I got back home two days ago after spending six weeks between India-Dubai-Bali. My trip was meant to spend quality time with my parents, a project hubby and I were planning on for a very long time. In between all of that hubby and I decided to take a few days off see Bali. Needless to say I came back renewed, a tan, plenty of ideas for new recipes and awesome tips for redecorating my house.
Eating authentic food in its place of origin is quiet something else. The tempeh for example, I was never a big tempeh fan, maybe because I had never tried the real thing. Even with the knowledge of its amazing health benefits it was never my first choice. Local American tempeh simply didn’t cut it, till I tried the real thing in Bali, it changed my opinion in fact I couldn’t stop eating it. I took a quick lesson in tempeh making which I’ll share very soon. The authentic taste, quality of fresh local ingredients is simply amazing.
Thanks to the wild availability of ethnic ingredients, recreating recipes is fairly easy now. This recipe for Balinese curry is something I had a few times there and we loved it. This recipe is my recreation of the verbal recipe the chef gave me after a bit of persuasion I think it’s pretty close to what we had, so hope you like it. For reference I’d say it’s a cross between Thai herbs and Indian spices, not too hot with subtle flavors.
- Spice paste
- 1.5 -2-inch piece of fresh ginger
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, tender parts only
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 small shallots
- 2 fresh red chiles
- 1½ oz unsalted cashew nuts
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoons tamari or fish sauce
- 1 x 14-oz can of light coconut milk
- 1 ripe mango, chop the two cheeks
- 1 tsp tamarind paste or juice of 1 lime
Blend everything into a smooth taste.
Curry
- 1 tbs sesame oil
- curry paste, recipe above start with 3/4 add more to your taste
- 1 cup veg stock, as needed
- 2 cups prepared Brussels sprouts
- 2 cups butternut squash
- 2 cup green beans or snap peas
- 2 cups spinach
- 300-400 grams tempeh cut into one inch cubes or your choice of protein
- 2¼ cups cooked black rice
Method
In a large wok, warm the oil over medium to heat. Pan fry the tempeh till crispy, set aside.
In the same pan add the curry paste and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, stock, tamari/fish sauce, green beans, eggplant butternut squash Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened and vegetables are just tender, about 10mins.
Add the or spinach and pan fried tempeh and cook for a further 2 minutes until everything comes together.
Serve curry in bowls over the cooked black or red rice with the option of toppings; fried shallots, cilantro, beansprouts and sambal on the side.
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