My Balinese Journey - The Spice Paste
This paste is the base of many Balinese dishes, and also the main ingredient in the recipes I will post next.. You can freeze the paste, so you don't have to make this every time..
Try to find the below ingredients in the Asian specialty isle of your supermarket, if you cannot find them, I have specified substitutes, it will obviously differ a little from the real deal, but it will turn out very yummy nevertheless :)
Base Be Pasih (Spice Paste For Seafood)
- 450g large red chilies chopped & deseeded
- 50g garlic cloves
- 225g peeled shallots
- 175g fresh turmeric (substitute with 2 tsp turmeric powder)
- 200g tomatoes halved & deseeded
- 100g chopped ginger
- 125g candlenuts (substitute with macadamia nuts)
- 2 TBL crushed coriander seeds
- 2 1/2 tsp dried shrimp paste (substitute with concentrated/reduced fish sauce)
- 150ml coconut oil (substitute with canola or corn oil)
- 2 1/2 TBL tamarind pulp (substitute with lemon or lime)
- 250ml water
- 3 Salam leaves (substitute with bay leaves)
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 stalks of lemon grass, bruised (bang the root a little basically)
Combine all the ingredients apart from the tamarind, bay leaves, water, salt and lemongrass in a food processor, and grind everything coarsely.. Place paste in a saucepan, add the remaining ingredients, and cook for about an hour on medium heat, or until the water is evaporated and the paste has turned golden.. Let it cool before using it.. Voila, your own fresh spice paste.. Thank you Chef Stefan!
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