Sambal Sotong

Ingredients :

• One lb small or med-sized fresh squid, clean the squid by laying it flat on the chopping board and gently pulling out the head in one direction. Empty the cavity of the squid. Wash it clean. Discard the head  except for a small portion of the tentacles. Slice the squid to thin rings.
• 4 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil
• One large onion, sliced
• Two ripe tomatoes, quartered
• One tbsp tamarind paste
• One cup water
• 1-2 tsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar
• salt
• 8-10 shallots
• 2 tsp belacan, also spelt belachan or blacan [dried shrimp paste]
• 4 cloves garlic
• 5 tbsp chili paste
• 4 candlenuts [buah keras/kemiri nuts] [Substitute: macadamia nuts]

(Items in red are to be ground/blended)

To Prepare :

• In a small bowl, using your fingers, mix together tamarind paste and water, then strain and discard seeds
• Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind shallots, garlic, belacan, candlenuts, chili paste into a paste
• In a heated wok, add oil, stir-fry ground paste until quite toasted and oil starts to ooze, about 5 mins
• Add onions, tomatoes, tamarind, sugar and salt to taste
• Cover, reduce heat to med, simmer till tomatoes are well stewed (mash with spatula) and sauce thickens
• Add squid, stir fry till just opaque - do not overcook as they will become chewy!
• Dish into a serving dish, allow to sit 10 mins or so, for squid to absorb flavors
• Served Sambal Sotong over a banana leaf with steamed rice or Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice)

Satay

Ingredients for Satay (Marinade):

1 lb beef (tenderloin, rib eye or flank steak)
1 lb boneless chicken (preferably boneless leg meat)
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp sugar

Items to be grounded:

12 shallots
6 cloves garlic
2 inch turmeric root (kunyit basah) (Substitute: galangal, lengkuas in Malay, or if both unavailable, substitute with fresh ginger)
1 tsp white peppercorn
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp belacan, also spelt belachan or blacan (dried shrimp paste)

Ingredients for Satay Peanut Sauce: 

3 candlenuts (buah keras in Malay) (Substitute: macadamia nuts)
2 tbsp tamarind pulp
3 cups coconut milk
2 cups roasted peanuts, coarsely pounded
½ cup peanut oil, or vegetable oil
¾ cup warm water
3 tbsp sugar
salt 

Items to be grounded/blended:

2-3 med red onions
6 cloves garlic
5 tbsp chili paste
2 stalks lemongrass, 4 to 6 inch of the ‘white’’ ends only, coarsely chopped
1 tsp belacan, also spelt belachan or blacan (dried shrimp paste)

Others/Miscellaneous :

• 2 seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size wedges
• 2 red onions, cut in bite-size wedges
• about 50 bamboo skewers, soaked in water 1 hr
• 4 tbsp oil combined with 1 tbsp sugar (This is the oil mixture for basting)
• 1 lemongrass stalk - cut the leaves or blades end straight across. Use a string to tie it into a basting brush (optional)

To Prepare Satay:

Grind shallots, garlic, turmeric root (or galangal, or ginger), peppercorn, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and belacan into a paste

Add turmeric powder and sugar to the paste, and mix well. (This is the satay marinade)

Slice beef and chicken into thin long strips, and place into separate containers. To each meat, add half each of the satay marinade, and mix well to evenly coat the strips of meat

Marinate the beef and chicken strips for at least 3-4 hours. Best if marinated overnight (refrigerated)

Treadle 3 to 5 strips of meat onto each bamboo skewer, leaving 3 to 4 inch bare at the 'handle end'

Grill satays on a hot charcoal bbq grill, indoor grill or on a stovetop grill pan until golden brown. Turn and baste often with the sugar & oil mixture, preferably with your homemade 'lemongrass brush'

Serve Satay with a small bowl of satay peanut sauce for dipping, and the cucumber & onion wedges on the side. Satay is often served with Ketupat, (a Malay rice cake)

To Prepare Satay Peanut Sauce:

Grind chili paste, onions, garlic, candlenuts, belacan and lemongrass into a paste

In a bowl, add warm water to tamarind pulp. Using your fingers, squish and mix the tamarind pulp to extract ‘juice’. Strain to discard seeds and fibers

In a saucepan, heat oil, add ground paste, sauté until quite toasted, and oil starts to seep out

Add tamarind juice, bring to a boil, add coconut milk, sugar and salt to taste. Bring sauce to boil again, then reduce to slowly simmer for 10 mins

Add pounded peanuts, simmer for another 5 to 10 mins, or until the sauce reaches a ‘thickness’ to your liking (Note: Add more coconut milk if sauce becomes too thick, and if sauce is too thin, simmer longer)

Serve satay peanut sauce warm, or at room temperature, in a small bowl as an accompaniment for dipping the satays. It is great for dipping Ketupat, (a Malay rice cake), often served with satay

Oyster omelette

Ingredients:

• 8 large fresh oysters
• 2 Tbs cornflour
• 1 Tbs rice flour
• 8 Tbs water
• 1 Tbs oil
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 Tbs soy sauce
• 1 Tbs sake rice wine
• 1 pinch white pepper
• 5 sprigs coriander, to garnish
• 1 spring onion, for garnish

Method:

• Wash the oysters and drain well.
• Mix both cornflour and rice flour together with the water to make a very thin batter.
• Heat a large heavy frying pan until very hot and add oil. Pour in the batter and cook for about 15 seconds until batter is half set before adding in the eggs.
• When the eggs are almost set, make a hole in the centre by pushing the egg and batter mixture to the side of the pan. Pour in a little more oil and fry the garlic for a few seconds.
• Mix, then season with soy sauce, sake and pepper. Add oysters and cook just long enough to heat through.
• Garnish and serve immediately with fresh coriender leaves!

Preparation Time: 4 minutes

Chilli Crab

INGREDIENTS:

1 Dungeness Crab (about 2 lb size)

1 sprig of coriander (chopped for garnishing only)

1 tablespoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of tamarind juice

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons of cooking oil

1/4 cup of water

SPICE PASTE:

8 dried red chilies (soaked in hot water and deseeded)

1 tablespoon of taucheo (soy bean paste/sauce)

3 cloves of garlic

1 inch of fresh ginger

TAMARIND JUICE:

5 seeds of tamarind

Water

METHOD:

1. Clean the crab and chop it into pieces. Save the green and juicy stuff inside the shell and set aside.
2. Pound the spice paste with a mortar and pestle or grind them using a food processor. Make sure that the spice paste is finely blended or pounded.
3. Soak the tamarind seeds in some warm water for 15 minutes. Extract the juice and discard the seeds.
4. Heat up your wok and add cooking oil.
5. Stir fry the spice paste until fragant and spicy.
6. Add the crab and 1/4 cup of water and do a quick stir. Cover the wok with its cover for 3 minutes.
7. Add the green and juicy stuff from the shell and stir well.
8. Add in sugar, tamarind juice, a little salt to taste and continue stirring for about 2 minutes or until all crab pieces turned red.
9. Dish up, garnish with chopped scallions and serve hot.

COOK’S NOTES:

1. If you are not sure how to clean the crab, you should get the Dungeness crab in Asian stores. They usually provide the cleaning and chopping services.
2. Use a mortar (or other similar kitchen tools) to crack the shells of the crab before cooking.
3. You can also use this recipe for cooking crab claws. If you do, make sure you crack the claws before cooking so the spices infuse the meat.