MALAYSIAN VEGETABLE SALAD WITH PEANUT PEPPERCORN SAUCE This is the Malaysian version of the western-styled vegetable and cheese dip. Different kinds of vegetables are assembled and lightly blanched. The diners can take their pick from the selection, heaping them with the piquant peanut peppercorn sauce. Serves 4.
Ingredients
50gm kangkong (water spinach)
50gm tapioca leaves
50gm beansprouts
50gm sweet turnip, julienned
50gm cucumber, julienned
50gm carrot, julienned
50gm french beans, julienned
2 cakes of bean curd, fried and sliced
2 boiled eggs cut into 8 wedges
Method
1. Blanch vegetables separately. Remove and dip in iced water to refresh. Drain.
2. Arrange bean curd slices, egg wedges and vegetables on a platter.
PEANUT SAUCE
50gm peanuts, roasted
10gm white peppercorns
4 tablespoons cooking oil
50g tamarind paste
120ml water
5 dried chillies
20gm belacan (dried shrimp paste)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
50gm palm sugar
50 hako (black shrimp paste)
1 teaspoon red peppercorns
Method
1. Grind roasted peanuts together with white peppercorns and set aside.
2. Blend garlic, dried chillies and belacan with 20ml of water. Set aside.
3. Heat up 50ml of water and dissolve palm sugar. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and fry tamarind paste for one minute on a low heat. Add 50ml of water and cook for a while. Let it cool and stain.
5. Heat up the rest of the cooking oil and fry the chilli belacan mixture until fragrant. Add tamarind mixture, palm sugar water and hako and bring to boil.
6. Reduce heat and add peanut-peppercorn mixture and red peppercorns and simmer till the sauce thickens to the desired consistency.
