Cooking & Baking
Related: About this forumSambal, a Pungent Reminder of Home and Hardship
There are more than 300 varieties of the spicy chile paste, born in Southeast Asian villages and passed down through generations.
'When my mom cooked sambal from scratch, she moved with controlled haste. Her eyebrows would furrow as she used her index finger to mix belacan, a pungent shrimp paste, with water. Open all the windows! she would suddenly yell, her warning to my brother, father and me that fiery chiles would be hitting her oiled wok in a few minutes.
Even with windows opened wide, the fumes from sizzling capsaicin invoked coughing fits and heavy breathing.
My mother, who can neither read nor write, never used a cookbook; her version of sambal, a spicy chile paste that is a staple of Southeast Asian households, was passed down to her through generations of our family when we lived in Singapore.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/dining/sambal-a-pungent-reminder-of-home-and-hardship.html?
Sambal Tumis
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019421-sambal-tumis
Mee Goreng (Southeast Asian Fried Noodles)
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019458-mee-goreng-southeast-asian-fried-noodles
Turbineguy
(37,333 posts)My Dutch family spent many years in Indonesia living in Bandung and my Aunt brought back some great recipes.
MontanaMama
(23,317 posts)This chicken thigh recipe is sooooooo good. I dont use the skewers...just grilling the thighs is fine.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/sambal-chicken-skewers
elleng
(130,923 posts)Callalily
(14,889 posts)MontanaMama
(23,317 posts)It is in my regular meal rotation. FYI - it doesn't seem to make a difference whether I marinade for two hours or 8 hours. It's always good. Cheers!
parkia00
(572 posts)My friend cooking sambal in winter with the windows closed. Fire engine came looking for a suspected gas leak. Western style "open kitchen" on the house 100% inappropriate for cooking some Asian delicacies with a hot wok.
ploppy
(2,162 posts)Thanks for the story.