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What You Need:
(To Serve: 6 to 8)
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SAUCE
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup finely chopped onions
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon trassi (shrimp paste, see Glossary)
2 cups water
4 cups shelled unsalted peanuts, pulverized in a blender or with a nut grinder
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh hot chilies
2 salam leaves (see Glossary)
½ teaspoon scraped, finely grated fresh ginger root
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups coconut milk made from 4 cups coarsely chopped coconut and 4 cups hot water
¼ cup tamarind water
VEGETABLES
2 fresh bean curd cakes (see Glossary)
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup tamarind water
4 small new potatoes, peeled
1 pound yard beans or fresh green string beans, trimmed, washed and cut into 3-inch lengths
1 pound fresh bean sprouts, washed, and husks removed, or substitute
2 cups drained, canned bean sprouts, washed in a sieve under cold water
1 pound fresh kang kung (see Glossary), or fresh spinach, trimmed, washed and coarsely chopped
Vegetable oil for deep frying
2 hard-cooked eggs, cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 cup finely shredded iceberg lettuce
2 medium-sized cucumbers, scrubbed but not peeled, scored lengthwise with the tines of a table fork and cut crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices
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Translate this recipe:
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| How To Cook: |
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SAUCE:
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1. First prepare the sauce in the following way: In a heavy 4- to 6-quart casserole, heat the oil over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it.
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2. Drop in the onions and garlic and, stirring frequently, cook them for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent but not brown. Watch carefully for any sign of burning and regulate the heat accordingly.
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3. Add the trassi and mash it with the back of a spoon until it is well blended with the onions. Pour in the 2 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the peanuts, brown sugar, chilies, salam leaves, ginger root and salt.
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4. Then reduce the heat to low and add the coconut milk and ¼ cup of tamarind water. Stirring occasionally, simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is thick enough to hold its shape lightly in a spoon. Taste for seasoning and set the pan aside off the heat.
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VEGETABLES:
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1. To prepare the vegetables: place the bean curd cakes and ½ teaspoon of salt in a bowl, pour in ¼ cup of tamarind water, and let the cakes soak for at least 10 minutes, turning them over occasionally. Drain the bean curd cakes and set them aside on paper towels.
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2. Drop the new potatoes into enough lightly salted boiling water to cover them completely and boil them until they are almost tender and show only slight resistance when pierced with the point of a small, sharp knife. Drain the potatoes in a sieve or colander and pat them completely dry with paper towels. Then cut them crosswise into ¼-inch-thick slices.
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3. Steam the yard beans or string beans for 30 minutes; the fresh bean sprouts for 12 to 15 minutes; the kang kung or spinach for 12 to 15 minutes. When done, the vegetables should be tender but still somewhat crisp to the bite. After they are steamed, set the vegetables aside separately.
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4. While the vegetables are steaming, pour about 3 cups of vegetable oil into a 12-inch wok or fill a deep fryer or large, heavy saucepan with oil to a depth of 3 inches. Heat the oil until it reaches a temperature of 375° on a deep-frying thermometer.
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5. Drop in the bean curd cakes and, turning them gently with a slotted spoon, deep-fry for about 2 or 3 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown. Drain the bean curd cakes on a double thickness of paper towels, then cut them crosswise into strips about ¼ inch wide and 1½ inches long.
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6. Add the potato slices to the hot oil and, stirring them gently about with the slotted spoon, fry them for about 4 minutes, or until they are crisp and golden brown on both sides. Transfer the potato slices to paper towels to drain.
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7. To serve, mound the kang kung or spinach in the center of a large serving plate; arrange the bean curd strips, potatoes, bean sprouts, yard or green beans, hard-cooked eggs, lettuce and cabbage attractively in rows on each side of the mound. Line the edges of the plate with the cucumber, overlapping the slices slightly.
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8. Serve the sauce at room temperature from a bowl or sauceboat.
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