Indonesian Orange Curry
Indonesians love their roots. Specifically ginger, galangal, and tumeric, to name a few. These three roots - jahe, lengkuas, and kunyit in Indonesian - are regular players in Indoensian cooking. They are steathily used together in Rendang, the famous toasted beef curry from the Padang region of Sumatra, and with different spice combinations in countless other Indonesian recipes. Tumeric is used to flavour chicken, not only in curries, but also fried chicken and chicken soup. Ginger is key, not only in savoury Indonesian cooking, but also in many hot drinks here - for example susu jahe, a hot ginger drink finished off with sweetened condensed milk and coconut sugar, and wedang jahe, another hot ginger drink finished with lemongrass, tumeric and cinnamon. Galangal is still a bit of a mystery to me, since I hadn't even known it existed before moving here, but it certainly does work well with the other two - or with lemongrass, garlic, and the like - in many dishes here.
But I think the times these roots really shine together is in Indonesian curries. There are a number of Indonesian dishes which assemble around this curry paste made with freshly blended equal portions of ginger, galangal, tumeric, shallot, garlic, and red chili, which then are eventually finished off with a touch of thick coconut milk, making delicious orange-yellow Asian curries. When chicken is the star, it's called Opor Ayam; if you add lontong (rice dumplings), tempe (fermented soybean cakes), and a few well-chosen vegetables, it will be called Ketupat Sayur; and if you want to just add a mix of whatever you fancy from your fridge and pantry, well, people here might say it's experimentation gone too far, but I would just call it Indonesian Orange Curry, and take it for what it is: the fabulous Indonesian curry base paired with whichever vegetables and mix-ins you chose. Canadian cooking is built on fusion and experimentation, so perhaps this is Indonesian curry with a Canadian touch. Anyway, I love it.
The following curry base can be finished with any number of vegetable combinations and is delicious with chicken, tofu, or seafood. Once blended, it can be used in ways similar to the instant Thai curry pastes that are available in supermarkets: it just needs to be toasted in oil first, after which, vegetables can be fried in it, and finally simmered with stock and a little coconut milk. Once you make a batch of the curry paste, portions can easily be frozen in ice cube trays to use later on.
But I think the times these roots really shine together is in Indonesian curries. There are a number of Indonesian dishes which assemble around this curry paste made with freshly blended equal portions of ginger, galangal, tumeric, shallot, garlic, and red chili, which then are eventually finished off with a touch of thick coconut milk, making delicious orange-yellow Asian curries. When chicken is the star, it's called Opor Ayam; if you add lontong (rice dumplings), tempe (fermented soybean cakes), and a few well-chosen vegetables, it will be called Ketupat Sayur; and if you want to just add a mix of whatever you fancy from your fridge and pantry, well, people here might say it's experimentation gone too far, but I would just call it Indonesian Orange Curry, and take it for what it is: the fabulous Indonesian curry base paired with whichever vegetables and mix-ins you chose. Canadian cooking is built on fusion and experimentation, so perhaps this is Indonesian curry with a Canadian touch. Anyway, I love it.
The following curry base can be finished with any number of vegetable combinations and is delicious with chicken, tofu, or seafood. Once blended, it can be used in ways similar to the instant Thai curry pastes that are available in supermarkets: it just needs to be toasted in oil first, after which, vegetables can be fried in it, and finally simmered with stock and a little coconut milk. Once you make a batch of the curry paste, portions can easily be frozen in ice cube trays to use later on.
Indonesian Orange Curry
For the curry paste.
- 2 shallots
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a large thumb each of
- tumeric
- ginger
- galangal
- 1-2 spicy red chilies
- A little water, if necessary for blending
Blend the above ingredients together with a hand blender, magic bullet, or mortar and pestle. This is now ready to etiher be made into curry or frozen for later.
For the curry.
Ingedients:
- 5-6 tbsp Orange curry paste
- 3-4 tbsp stir frying oil
- Meat and/or veggies for about 4 people
- Example one: (the mix-ins I used for my family at Christmas)
- A handful of raw, thawed prawns
- 1 chayote, peeled, seeded, and sliced (pictured, quartered in the second photo above)
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- a handful of string beans, chopped in inch-length pieces
- a generous serving of bean sprouts
- Example two: (Pictured below. This is good if you want a simple side dish)
- 2 chayotes, peeled, seeded, and sliced
- 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1/2-1 cup stock (vegetable or chicken, depending on mix-ins)
- 1/4 cup of thick coconut milk (from Indonesia), or 1/2 cup of regular coconut milk (found in Canada)
- 1-2 tbsp sugar (coconut or white), to taste
- Add the curry paste and frying oil into a large wok or heavy-bottomed pot. Toast it a little until fragrant, stirring so it doesn't burn
- Add in the protein and/or vegetables, gradually, adding the slowest cooking ones first (if using bean sprouts, do not add them yet)
- Once the mix-ins are half-cooked, add in the stock and coconut milk, and simmer for about 5 minutes, until vegetables and protein are cooked, and flavours are mixed
- Season to taste with sugar and salt
- Serve over steamed rice
Some things to serve with the curry (per serving):
- A fried or boiled egg
- Sambal sauce
- (OR Telor balado - fried or boiled egg dunked in sambal)
- Prawn crackers
- Deep fried Tempe (soybean cake)
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