Satay Babi

Sliced Pork Stir-fried in Spicy Coconut Gravy

When I began studying the techniques of cooking Nonya food, I started with satay babi.
The ingredients make up the foundation of most Nonya dishes. Besides, the dish provides
an opportunity to learn how to pound these core ingredients in the right sequence,
beginning with the tough sinewy rhizomes, such as galangal, and ending with reconstituted
dried chilli and belachan.

I sought the tutelage of my dearest 90-year-old kohpoh (grandaunt) Beng Neo, then,
who insisted that I came to learn from her after 3 pm when the kitchen was not too hot
from the afternoon sun. She sat at the table and had her tea and Marie biscuits, while
waiting patiently for me to pound the spices into a fine rempah (spice paste) with much
sweat and persistence. She reminded me that in the old days, young girls had to learn to
pound well and with a good rhythm because potential mothers-in-law would come around
to judge them on these skills. Well, for modern day wives, there is always
the food processor, although I must agree that pounded spice paste tastes much better.

makes 6 to 10 servings

450 g or 1 pound pork (fillet
or leg meat)

5 candlenuts

2 stalks lemon grass (seray),
upper stalks and outer layers
removed, sliced thinly

5 red chillies

140 g or 5 ounces shallots,
peeled and quartered

1 teaspoon belachan
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1¾ cups coconut milk
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

1.    Rinse the pork and pat dry. Slice the pork into very
thin stir-fry slices, about 2.5-cm or 1-inch wide.

2.    Pound or pulse grind the spice paste ingredients as
follows: candlenuts, lemon grass, red chillies, shallots
and belachan. Continue to pound or pulse grind until
you obtain a smooth paste.

3.    Heat a wok and add the oil. Lower the heat and stir
in the spice paste. Cook till spice paste is fragrant and
the oil separates from it.

4.  Add the sliced pork and toss to coat with the spice paste.
When the pork is mostly cooked, stir in the coconut milk.
Bring to a boil and then simmer, uncovered. Continue to
cook over low heat until the gravy thickens.

5.    Add the salt and sugar, adjusting the amount
according to taste.

70  Growing Up in a  Nonya Kitchen ~ Chinese New Year