From Tide to Table

Passport & Plate - Spicy Tofu Satay

nunga — Thu, 5 Mar 2015 21:03:51 GMT

Ingredients
Tofu Marinade
Satay Dipping Sauce
Ingredients
• 2 Tbsp peanut oil
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely diced
• 1 tsp ea. ground coriander, ground cumin, ground ginger and chili flakes
• 1 stalk lemon grass, crushed
• ½ cup crunchy peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp ea. kecap manis, lemon juice, soy sauce,
• ½ cup coconut milk
Ingredients
• 5 cm stem lemon grass, finely chopped
• 5 cm stem ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 shallots, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 torch ginger petals, finely diced ( optional)
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp ea ground coriander, ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground turmeric

How to prepare this recipe
Tofu Marinade
Method
1. Grind all marinade ingredients together in mortar with pestle or in an electric grinder..
2. Cut tofu into desired size- 2cm cubes (if skewering) or 5cm pieces, cover with marinade paste and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Sauté in ridged cast iron fry pan or on skewers over charcoal grill.
Satay Dipping Sauce
Method
1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan and stir fry the shallots, spices, and lemon grass until onion softened.
2. Stir in the peanut butter, sauces and juice and heat until simmering.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and stir until smooth and sauce thickens.
4. Remove lemongrass
Serving Suggestion
Serve tofu on skewers with dipping sauce alongside as a starter or serve tofu on a bed of steamed water spinach, topped with the satay sauce.

The story behind this recipe
The Tofu Grannies.
A cocophany of squeals from piglets being slaughtered stops me in my tracks. The sound emanates from beneath me. I slowly descend the ancient stairs to the wet market. I am greeted by frenzied headless chickens running amongst buckets of slivering eels. The smell of yesterday’s fish wafts through the haze of smoking ducks. In the space of minutes someone less passionate about food might become a vegetarian.
And if they did, then just a few steps away they would find excellent examples of vegetarian food. At the far end of the market, just past the fragrant blossoms being crafted into temple offerings, I come across The Tofu Grannies. For over forty years they have been coming to this market to sell their wares; tofu and tempeh. They laugh and chat. Regulars come to buy. The Tofu Grannies are known far and wide. I want to know them too and persuade them to let me join them in their factory; two rooms at the end of the garden.
Original thoughts of suckling pig, eel goreng and smoked duck gave way to Tofu Satay. A picture is said to tell a thousand words and these photographs taken with The Tofu Grannies do not do justice to the wonderful experience we shared. Whenever I eat tofu, no matter where in the world, I think back to my day with The Tofu Grannies. I can even hear them laughing as they produce a product for market, a product that has locals walking miles to buy. As they balance on a board above the muslin-enrobed curd they gyrate their hips and dance to squeeze out the whey.
A convert to the cause I now eat tofu goreng, tofu soup, or steamed tofu in woven baskets. I eat it plain, I eat it spiced but best of all I eat it marinated in local spices; pierced on a bamboo stick, barbecued above coconut coals and served with a spicy satay sauce.
Enak Sekali- very delicious

Photos: Pork in Sweet Soy Sauce

nunga — Wed, 22 Jan 2014 19:39:00 GMT

through food an insight to another culture

My Scholarship entry - Understanding a Culture through Food

nunga — Sun, 4 Mar 2012 09:02:06 GMT

Sri Lanka; a colourful food destination

I think of Sri Lanka as a food parcel at the southern tip of India, unwrapping to reveal ingredients that reflect the past.

Every raider, invader and conqueror has left their mark; on the culture, architecture, landscape and especially on the food.

Arabian nuts may be followed by an Indian Curry, Portuguese fish, all cooled down with a Dutch curd pudding washed down with a very British Cup of Tea.

The early Indian kings brought irrigation engineers who built reservoirs that stored water between the monsoons and dry seasons. Today these 'tanks' house fresh water fish, surrounded by purple water lily, Sri Lanka’s symbol of opportunity. Verdant paddies produce red, white and brown rice.

The road sides are dotted with stalls of seasonal tropical fruit; the bright red of the spiky rambutan contrast with the yellow of the small pineapple. Bananas hang above and may be green, yellow, orange, or even red.

I believe all food tastes best when harvested ripe and eaten immediately. However in a country of weather extremes, preservation is important. Fruit is often served in syrup of jaggery (palm sugar) and spices.

Start the day with orange mangoes infused in syrup of cardamom, cinnamon and clove and reflect on the wars fought for these spices.

Curries are often described by colour- a white curry is milked down with coconut, a yellow curry is spiced with turmeric, a red is laced with chilli and a black is fired with pepper.

The beaches of Negombo are a hive of activity in the early mornings. Yellow-finned tuna are spread in the sun to dry. Without refrigeration sun drying is just one method of preservation. The Portuguese women in the south use the orange pulp of the tamarind to coat their fish whilst the Sinhalese in the South use the white salt crystals, harvested and dried from the sea.

Sri Lanka, where you can taste the colourful history, where through food, you can gain an insight to another culture.

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

nunga — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 14:23:00 GMT

I am interested in tracing food to source. Watching these brightly coloured Javanese Fishing boats return with the day's catch was indeed, one of life's magic moments- From tide to table- how fresh, how scrumptious. Photo 1 - Painted Fleet Photo 2 - Empty Baskets of Expectation Photo 3 - Time to light the BBQ We so often buy supermarket food with no idea of it's origin and never sure how fresh it might be. Bargaining on the beach for your own fish to cook, just caught, changes the flavour and improves the taste. It isn't just the fish, it is the total experience- from tide to table. Food plays such an integral part of travel, it help understanding of the history and culture and I think there is an opportunity to increase food-related travel photography - food is my passion- I'd love to photograph it around the world.