SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA AND BALI

SONGBIRDS AND SATAYS

In recent years I have visited Southeast Asia regularly to attend art fairs. Dressed to the nines in cocktail wear, we swarm around Singapore after dark sampling some of the best street food that the city has to offer. The hawker stalls are in magnificent old buildings, preserved from Colonial times and a tribute to this region’s rich heritage, a marriage of Muslim, Indian, Chinese and Western cultures, living side by side, all blended into one. Singapore is famed for Nyonya cuisine, which heralded my introduction to Southeast Asian food as early as 1994. I have since travelled extensively throughout the region, attending cookery schools and writing up recipes while waiting for my paint to dry!

One of the first meals I have once the jet lag has lifted is chilli crab. It’s not as spicy as the name suggests, but it’s definitely the most famous culinary export in Singapore. One year my mom and I discovered that Clarke Quay served up the finest of these crabs and seemed like the place to go. We proceeded to take a taxi to the bus stop, then the underground to Clarke Quay and then made the short walk to the restaurant, a journey that took 45 minutes door to door. This soon became a pattern and we ate there almost every night. I watched in amazement how the chefs unwrapped the live crabs, so artfully tied up with coloured raffia, and then unceremoniously dumped them into cauldrons of boiling salted water. A smoking wok and a little tomato sauce produced the final result, which was astonishingly tasty.

On the day we were due to leave, I looked out of the hotel window and recognised a sign. Could it be true? Was our hotel really next to that bridge in Clark Quay, a mere two-minute walk away? There could be some truth to that blonde legend.

Singapore laksa with chicken and prawns

I attend a large international art fair in Singapore each year and en route to the show is a little outdoor food centre where I stop and grab a bite to eat before I head off into the confines of air-conditioned space. Although I have been cooking laksa since my first trip to Singapore in 1994, this gem of a recipe was the result of my daily visit to that food market.

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DID YOU KNOW?

Laksa is an integral part of Nyonya cuisine, which is the marriage of Southeast Asian and Chinese food. Today Nyonya cuisine is considered a culinary legacy amongst the Straits Chinese communities of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Nyonya food has its roots in the fifteenth century when male Chinese immigrants married local Malay woman, blending the two cultures.

Curry paste

Garnish

  1. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet and set aside. You need about 450 g cooked rice noodles.
  2. Next you need to make the curry paste. Combine the onion, lemon grass, garlic, ground nuts, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, tomato paste, shrimp paste, salt, pepper, chilli powder, sugar and the oil in your spice grinder or blender. Grind the mixture until very smooth. Add a little extra oil if you need to facilitate the process. The mixture should be fine with no fibrous strands. Repeat until you are absolutely sure your paste has no fibres. At this stage the curry paste can be stored in a glass jar and kept for up to a week in the fridge.
  3. To make the laksa, Heat the oil in a large, deep saucepan or wok and sauté the curry paste for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat slightly, add the chicken and prawns and stir-fry until the chicken is just starting to turn white. Reduce the heat and slowly add the coconut milk and water. Leave to simmer for 12–15 minutes or until the sauce is aromatic and reduced. I like my broth to be thick and creamy, more like a thin curry sauce, but if preferred add as much water as you need to get the consistency you desire. You can add up to 500 ml (2 C) of additional liquid. Adjust seasoning to taste.
  4. Pour boiling water over the noodles to reheat. Drain immediately and divide the noodles equally amongst a few serving bowls. Ladle the hot laksa broth over the noodles and top with pieces of chicken and prawns. Attractively arrange spring onions, bean sprouts, chillies and coriander on top. Serve with a slice of lemon or lime, squeezed over the dish just before eating.

Serves 4–6.

Beef rendang with roti jala (lacy pancakes)

Beef rendang commands pride of place on an Indonesian rijsttafel. It’s worth noting that this curry is considered to be a dry curry with very little sauce, traditionally prepared in this way to preserve the meat for up to a week in the very hot and humid Indonesian climate. If you prefer the rendang a little saucier reduce the cooking time, but only once the meat is tender.

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Curry paste

Curry

Lacy pancakes

  1. To make the curry paste, combine all the ingredients and process or blend until smooth.
  2. To make the curry, heat the oil in a large saucepan and stir in the curry paste. Cook for 1–2 minutes to release the flavour, and then add the beef. Brown for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 11⁄2–2 hours or until the meat is very tender. Stir from time to time to prevent the meat from burning or sticking to the bottom of the saucepan, especially towards the end of the cooking time when almost all the liquid has evaporated.
  3. To make the pancakes, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the egg, milk and water. Lightly whisk until smooth. Ensure there are no lumps and then strain through a fine sieve. Add the oil and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the improvised container (see tips below) and then pour the batter into a nonstick frying pan, moving your hand in circles to spread the mixture to form a lacy pancake. The lines must connect. Cook for 1 minute or until it starts to turn golden brown underneath. Cook the pancake on one side only. Remove from the pan, stack on a serving plate and cover with a clean tea towel. Repeat until all the mixture has been used up.
  4. Serve the pancakes with the curry.

Serves 4.

TIPS

• Tamarind is the acidic fruit of a large tropical tree and is shaped like a broad bean. It’s usually dried and sold in packets. To use, soak the tamarind in hot water and then strain. Discard the pips and use the liquid. When recipes call for tamarind, the given quantity refers to the rehydrated tamarind.

• As with all homemade curry pastes, ensure that the ingredients are blended to a pulp before proceeding. There should be no fibrous strands left once the paste has been blended.

• Use 60 ml (1⁄4 C) white vinegar instead of tamarind juice if preferred. They do the same job.

• Improvised container: Punch a few holes into the metal lid of a clean glass jar or plastic juice bottle. The object is to turn the container into a ‘showerhead’ for pouring the pancake batter into the saucepan.

• The batter must be strained and should be thin. Once poured into the pan, the thin lines must connect to resemble a spider’s web. These pancakes seem to work best when you use a nonstick frying pan. The pancakes are cooked on one side only.

Singapore chilli crab

My favourite place to eat crab is at the world famous Clarke Quay in Singapore. Restaurants line the water’s edge and live crabs of every size are for sale. The menu is simple: choose your crab, weigh your crab, and then decide if it is going to be pepper or chilli for dinner.

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  1. Wash the crabs, remove the hardtop shell and clean out any stomach bag or tissue. Use a meat cleaver or very large kitchen knife to chop each crab into four or more pieces. Heat the oil in a wok until hot but not smoking. Fry the crab until the shells start to change colour, turning frequently so that they are evenly cooked. Remove from the wok and set aside.
  2. Reduce the heat to low and add the ginger, garlic and chillies. Sauté until soft but not browned. Add the tomato sauce, chilli sauce, water, sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce. Return the cooked crab to the wok and simmer gently for a few minutes or until the sauce reduces and coats the crab. It should be tangy and thick. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with chopped spring onion. Serve at once.

Serves 4.

TIPS

• Most large supermarkets sell frozen crab cleaned and ready for the pot. However, should you be using fresh crab, remember to follow the instructions in the recipe above for cleaning.

• Use any Asian chilli or sweet Thai chilli sauce for the chilli sauce called for in this recipe.

Nasi goreng

Nasi goreng is the staple of just about every Balinese. I think I ate this humble rice dish at least once a day while patrolling the emerald hills on my bike in search of the perfect rice paddy to paint.

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  1. Heat 15 ml (1 Tbsp) of the oil in a large frying pan and fry the eggs. They should be sunnyside up and still a little runny. Set aside and keep warm.
  2. Heat the remaining oil in a wok or heavy-bottomed frying pan. When hot but not smoking, add the chicken, shrimps, chillies, garlic, chives and spring onions. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes until the chicken is cooked and has turned white. Add the cold cooked rice, followed by the soy sauce, tomato sauce and seasonings. Stir fry, combining everything quickly and stirring continuously to prevent the mixture from sticking together. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Fold in the raw baby spinach leaves. Transfer to a serving platter and arrange the eggs on top. Serve with prawn crackers.

Serves 4.

TIPS

• This is a great way to use up leftover rice. You can also substitute sliced beef or pork for chicken. Many restaurants in Bali serve nasi goreng with a soft fried or poached egg on top instead of the traditional omelette.

• The shrimps used in Asian cooking are the type we would use for shrimp cocktail. However, in some recipes, when they call for shrimps they actually mean prawns. Use your discretion. Canned shrimps are widely available at supermarkets.

Satay with peanut sauce

Although satays originated in Java and are considered a national dish, these humble little food sticks are now enjoyed all across Southeast Asia. Traditionally, satay is served with a peanut dipping sauce. Some recipes are rather involved so I opted for a shortcut version made with peanut butter. The last time I ordered these in Singapore, I was sitting in a hawker food centre in my cocktail dress. They brought a platter of 60 skewers to the table and a bucket of beer. Not a bad idea after putting in 10 hours at an art fair!

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Peanut sauce

  1. Soak bamboo skewers in cold water for 1 hour.
  2. Cut the chicken into small cubes. Thread the meat onto the skewers.
  3. Mix the sesame oil, soy sauce and lemon juice together. Brush the skewers with the marinade and refrigerate overnight or while you make the peanut sauce.
  4. Combine the peanut butter and lukewarm water in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until well combined. Add the peanuts, garlic, sugar, crushed chillies, chilli powder, soy sauce, lemon juice and fish sauce. Cook, stirring continuously, until smooth. Gradually incorporate the coconut milk and mix until the sauce has a pouring consistency. Adjust seasoning. Add more crushed chillies if you want a little more spice. Set aside. (This sauce keeps well for a few days in the fridge.)
  5. Brush the skewers with a little sesame oil. Grill the skewers under a preheated oven grill for 3–5 minutes, turning once. Alternatively, braai the satays over a hot charcoal fire, turning once. Arrange on a large platter and serve with the peanut dipping sauce.

Serves 4.

TIPS

• Satay can be made with any of the following: pork, beef, prawn, chicken, lamb or even tofu. Whichever you choose, remember to cube the meat into very small pieces, as a satay is dainty and not like a sosatie or kebab which requires larger pieces of meat.

• Omit the lemon juice in the marinade when using red meat as it prevents the meat from absorbing the other ingredients. If lemon is added to red meat, it should only be done just before cooking.