Ingredients and steps on one page. Print it, or choose “Save as PDF” in the print dialog.
Sekai Gohan
Udang Balado: Padang-Style Indonesian Shrimp in Red Chili Paste
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Medium shrimp (udang sedang), heads and legs removed | 14 oz (400 g) | The main ingredient |
| Lime juice (air jeruk nipis) | 2 tbsp | Seasons the shrimp before cooking |
| Salt (garam) | 2 tsp | 1 tsp for the shrimp, 1 tsp to season the paste |
| Cooking oil (minyak goreng) | 4 tbsp | Fries the paste |
| Lime leaves (daun jeruk) | 4 | Citrus aroma |
| Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam) | 3 | Soft, savory leaf aroma |
| Galangal (lengkuas), bruised | 1¼-inch (3 cm) piece | Sharp, piney aroma |
| Lemongrass (serai), bruised | 2 stalks | Citrus-herbal aroma |
| Petai beans (mata petai) | 10 | Green, pungent bite |
| Scallions (daun bawang), cut ½-inch (1 cm) wide | 2 | Fresh finish |
| For the paste | ||
| Red shallots (bawang merah) | 12 | Sweetness and body |
| Garlic (bawang putih) | 6 cloves | Depth |
| Large red chilies (cabai merah besar) | 8 | Color and body |
| Curly red chilies (cabai merah keriting) | 6 | Color and heat |
| Red bird's eye chilies (cabai rawit merah) | 5 | Sharp heat |
| Ginger (jahe), roasted | ¾-inch (2 cm) piece | Warmth |
| Sugar (gula pasir) | 1 tsp | Rounds the heat |
| Water | as needed | Loosens the paste while grinding |
Steps
1Clean the shrimp
Pull the head off each shrimp and pinch away the legs, leaving the body and tail intact. Put the bodies in one bowl and the heads in another. The heads make a good shrimp stock, so keep them in the fridge if you plan to use them. You are done when every shrimp is clean of head and legs and the bowl holds only bodies.
2Marinate in lime and salt
Pour the lime juice over the shrimp and sprinkle on 1 tsp of the salt. Toss with your hands until every shrimp is coated. Set the bowl aside for 5 minutes while you start the paste. The shrimp stay grey and translucent, with a light glossy coat of lime.
3Roast the ginger and grind the paste
Roast the ginger over a flame or in a dry pan until it is lightly charred in spots. Put it in the mortar or processor with the shallots, garlic, all three chilies, the sugar and the remaining 1 tsp salt. Grind, adding water a little at a time only when the blades stall or the pestle skids. The paste is ready when it is an even, coarse red with no whole pieces of shallot or chili left.
4Fry the paste with the aromatics
Bruise the galangal and lemongrass with the back of a knife so they split but hold together. Heat the oil in the wok, then add the paste, lime leaves, daun salam, galangal and lemongrass. Stir steadily and scrape the bottom so the paste never catches. It is ready when the raw shallot smell is gone, the kitchen smells of lemongrass and lime leaf, and the oil glistens at the edges of a deep red paste.
5Add the shrimp, petai and scallion
Add the petai, the shrimp and the scallion to the wok. Turn everything over with the spatula so the paste coats every shrimp. Keep stirring and moving the shrimp across the hot surface of the pan. Within moments the grey flesh starts to turn pink from the outside in.
6Take it off the heat at the right moment
Keep stirring until the shrimp are pink-white and opaque all the way through, curled into a loose C. Cut the thickest one open to check that no grey, glassy flesh remains in the center. Turn off the heat as soon as they reach that point, before they curl tight. Serve straight away, while the paste is still glossy and steaming.