This dish was inspired by my love of and travels to Bali. This is my take on a very traditional dish and the fun part is that you can change things up when it comes to the vegetables. There is so much wisdom in traditional culture and I hope to honour tradition in some small way through recipes like this. Western culture often considers Eastern medicine as ‘woo woo’ medicine. The truth is wisdom that has been passed down is centuries older than Western medicine and if we just take the time to learn, we can heal through the incredible food they share.
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Salad
1 cup red rice
300 g baby potatoes
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
120 g green beans, topped and halved
150 g tender-stem broccoli
3 eggs
1 tablespoon coconut oil
250 g firm tofu, cut into cubes
5 tablespoons sunflower oil
3 shallots, finely sliced
½ cucumber, sliced
100 g bean sprouts
1 carrot, grated
1 handful fresh coriander leaves
salt and pepper
Satay sauce
2 cloves garlic
2 shallots, quartered
1 stalk lemongrass, bashed to release flavour
1 thumb-size piece fresh ginger
1 red chilli, finely sliced, or 2 tablespoons chilli paste
200 g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons coconut sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Instructions:
Cook the rice in salted water as per the packet instructions. Once all the water has been absorbed, remove from the heat and keep the lid on to allow the rice to steam. Set aside.
For the satay sauce, place the garlic, shallots, lemongrass, ginger and chilli or chilli paste into a food processor with 1 tablespoon water and blend until you get a thick paste. Make sure it is well blended.
Spoon the mixture into a medium frying pan over medium heat, stirring often so that the it does not brown too much. If it dries out, add a dash of water to help it along. Cook for roughly 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the peanuts and 1 cup water into a separate frying pan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10–15 minutes until it starts to thicken. Stir often as you don’t want the nuts to burn.
Once the lemongrass paste has cooked down, add the sugar, salt, paprika and tamarind paste and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the peanut mixture and the coconut milk and stir until well combined. Set the sauce aside.
Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a simmer. Add the baby potatoes and the turmeric and boil for 12–15 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Just before the potatoes are ready add all the green vegetables and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and set aside, saving the water to boil the eggs. Once the potatoes have cooled, gently break them open using your hands.
Fry the tofu in the coconut oil for 3–5 minutes on each side until crispy. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
Bring a small pot of water to the boil. the eggs for 6 minutes. Remove and rinse in ice cold water. Peel the eggs, slice in half and set aside.
Heat the sunflower oil to a medium heat. You know it is ready when you put a chopstick or back of a wooden spoon in the oil and small bubbles surround the wood. Once the oil is hot, add the shallots and fry for about 5 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
With all the elements ready, you can now assemble the dish. Start with the rice then layer the cucumber, sprouts and carrots followed by the potatoes, tofu and egg. Generously cover with lashings of the satay sauce and top with crispy shallots and fresh coriander. Season to taste and serve.
-Melissa