If you are a fan of Asian recipes,
particularly South East Asian recipes, this homemade chilli paste is a very
handy basic to have in your fridge. So many recipes call for a tablespoon here,
a teaspoon there of chilli paste and rather than grinding it up from scratch or
substituting it with fresh chillies, etc, make this paste, keep it in the
fridge and not only will you have a time saving ingredient on your hands but
your final dish will have a deeper, more well rounded flavour than when using
fresh chillies.
The key to this homemade chilli paste is in the
frying (tumis, in Malay) of the paste. The longer the cooking time, the deeper
the flavour and I usually cook mine for about an hour.
There are so many ways to use this recipe, whether
to make Nasi Goreng (Malay or Indonesian Fried Rice), Mee Goreng (Malay or
Indian Fried Noodles) or to use it to marinate anything. I love having it as a
condiment too, much like a dipping sauce or sambal, because that’s what it is,
a sambal! Fancy a twist to your usual roast or spuds? Well, use a little of
this to add a kick or with barbecue season almost upon us, as mentioned before,
this is the perfect spicy marinade.
It is a pretty spicy paste, so when using this
homemade chilli paste in another recipe, a small amount goes a long way. I love
making a large batch and storing it in a sterilized jar (straight out of a
dishwasher will do) for easily up to a month. And guess what? It makes the
perfect gift for a foodie friend.
TIP: A chopper, blender or food processor is a must
for this as all the ingredients are processed together, then fried.
Ingredients for homemade chilli paste
- 100g dried red chilli, cut (with scissors) and
soaked in hot water for about 20 minutes
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 10 cloves garlic
- 4 candlenuts or 5 macadamia nuts
- 1 tsp palm or white sugar
- Water as needed
- 100ml vegetable oil for frying
Method
- Drain the chillies and place everything apart
from the oil, in a blender/food processor with enough water to get a smooth
paste.
- Heat the oil in a deep wok or saucepan, then fry
the chilli paste on medium heat initially for about 5 minutes until fragrant.
- Lower the heat and cook for about an hour,
stirring every now and then.
- Let cool and store in a clean jar in the fridge,
lasts up to a month. You can even freeze until needed, in ice cube trays would
be perfect, as you can use a little at a time as needed.
