.: evil jungle prince :.

As I was flipping through my new Malay/Indonesian cookbook, I came across a beautiful picture of the dishes nasi kerabu (fragrant coconut rice) and telor balado (eggs in spicy red sauce) and wondered how I might make this dish eggless. As the eggs are normally deep fried before they encounter the balado seasoning, I thought deep fried, firm tofu might be a suitable candidate. So I came up with tahu balado. (Or should I say "balado tahu" -- can anybody tell me?)

Yum-yum-yum! To my great surprise, this dish combination turned out great despite my relative virginity in the field of Malay cuisine and the fact I took the telor out of the original recipe and replaced them with tahu. Actually, the result was gorgeous (at least to my tongue), so the recipe I used follows for future reference...

Fragrant Coconut Rice - Nasi Kerabu

1. Wash one cup rice until clean. Add one pounded stalk of lemongrass, three slices of galangal, two fresh pandan leaves, dash of salt, and a mixture of coconut milk and water to the level prescribed by your rice cooker for one cup of rice. Mix well inside the rice cooker before hitting Start.

2. While the rice is cooking, prepare the fresh ingredients as toppings: shred 1-2 kaffir lime leaves, cilantro leaves, 2-3 finely chopped cucumber slices, 2-3 knotgrass or basil leaves (I used basil), thinly sliced one red chili pepper, thinly slice one shallot. When the rice is done, let is sit for ten minutes, remove the cooked ingredients from the top of the rice, and then top of the fresh ingredients.

Deep Fried Tofu in Spicy Red Sauce - Tahu Balado

1. Heat oil. Slice firm tofu and coat liberally with flour. Fry the tofu on each side until cripsy, shaking the pan back and forth periodically so that the tofu won't stick to the pan. Remove and cool.

2. In the remaining oil, fry 2-3 spoonfuls of pre-prepared chili paste (see below), dash of salt, a fresh tomato (diced), and 1-2 pieces of lemongrass stalk. Fry until fragrant.

3. To the thickened sauce, add a dash of lime juice, a dash of sugar, and water if the sauce becomes too dry. Add the tofu to the sauce, coat, and then serve with the nasi kerabu.

Chili Paste

1. Add chopped red chili peppers, shallots, and garlic cloves to a food processor. Blend, adding a little oil if it's too dry. Refrigerate for future use.