food comas

This spice paste was made for use in the Pepes Ikan (Steamed Marinated Fish in Banana Leaf) during my Balinese Cooking Class.

Base be Pasih — Spice Paste for Seafood (recipe by I Nyoman Sudiyasa of Sate Bali)

Ingredients:

• 10 large red chilies, seeded and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 15 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 4 inch ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 inch fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped
• 1 medium tomato, peeled and seeded
• 1 T coriander seeds
• 10 candlenuts
• 1 tsp dried shrimp paste
• 4 T vegetable oil
• 2 salam leaves
• 2 stalks lemon grass, bruised
• 2 T tamarind pulp

Directions:

Process all the ingredients until coarsely ground, except for the oil, tamarind pulp, salam leaves and lemon grass.  During the cooking class, we ground the paste ingredients by hand with a large flat mortar and pestle.

Heat the oil in a large wok and add the processed ingredients with the salam leaves and lemon grass.  Stir frequently over moderate heat for about 5 minutes until fragrant and a golden color.  Add the tamarind pulp and let cool before use.

We used this seafood paste to make Pepes Ikan (Steamed Marinated Fish in Banana Leaf).