Balinese Street Food II

Nasi campur (mixed rice) is the dish most commonly eaten by Balinese people and is available in almost every warung (food stall) in Bali. It consists of a portion of steamed white rice, accompanied by an assortment of meat, fish and vegetables, and it won't be complete without the spicy tomato and chilli sauce (sambal) and some prawn or other type of crackers. The style of these assortments differ from warung to warung guaranteeing you can get something slightly different every time. One popular example is some sort of fishcake with a spicy and aromatic taste. It would normally contain 1/4 fish and 3/4 mashed potatoes and other ingredients. I don't really know what type of fish they would use but I could imagine that it could be some kind of oily fish with a tasty fishy flavour. So inspired by that dish, last night I tried to recreate it with my own interpretation according to my memory of the flavour. I used salmon but I suppose you can use any other type of fish or a mixture of it such as haddock, coley, pollock, or even mackerel. Most of the ingredients that I mention here would be available at your local Asian supermarket.

Spicy Fishcakes with Chilli Jam

For the chilli jam


Ingredients:
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 red chilli, chopped
3 tomatoes
1 kaffir lime leaf, chopped
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs dark soy sauce
1 tbs vinegar
salt and pepper


Blitz the tomatoes, chilli, ginger, and kaffir lime leaf in a blender or a food processor until fairly smooth. Transfer to a sauce pan with the remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat then simmer gently and stir occasionally to prevent from sticking  for about 20-30 minutes until thick and jam-like. Set aside and leave until cool. 


For the fishcakes


Ingredients


(Makes about 4)


2 salmon fillets
200g potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 tsp chopped ginger
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, chopped
1 tbs dark soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 spring onions, sliced
a handful fresh coriander, chopped
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten
1 bowl of fresh breadcrumbs, made from 4 slices of bread, blitzed in a blender or food processor.


Pre-heat the oven to 180C, place the fillets in a baking tray skin-side down and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Once cooked set aside until cool. While the fish is cooking you can start preparing the other ingredients. Mix all the ingredients except the egg and breadcrumbs, and when the fish has cooled down remove the skin, shred the fillets using a fork, add to the mixture and mix thoroughly. Shape the mixture into medium-sized patties, dip into the beaten egg and roll in the breadcrumbs until well covered. Put the patties inside a fridge for 15 minutes to firm them up, then deep fry in hot oil until golden brown and serve with chilli jam on the side.