Calamari and pounded sambal with cabbage salad

Name: Calamari and pounded sambal with cabbage salad
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 600 gm calamari, cleaned, cut into 3cm pieces; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; To serve: lime wedges; 1 tbsp shrimp paste (belacan); 5 long red chillies, coarsely chopped; 2 birdseye chillies, coarsely chopped; 5 golden or red shallots, coarsely chopped; 5 gm ginger, coarsely chopped; 1 tbsp caster sugar; ½ vine-ripened tomato, seeds removed, coarsely chopped; Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lime; Juice of 2 limes; 1 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp caster sugar; 400 gm red cabbage, shredded; 1 cup each (loosely packed) mint and coriander, coarsely torn

Australian Gourmet Traveller fast recipe for calamari and pounded sambal with cabbage salad.

Mar 20, 2014 4:08am

By Alice Storey & Emma Knowles

Serves 4

Calamari and pounded sambal with cabbage salad

Ingredients

600 gm calamari, cleaned, cut into 3cm pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
To serve: lime wedges

Pounded sambal

1 tbsp shrimp paste (belacan)
5 long red chillies, coarsely chopped
2 birdseye chillies, coarsely chopped
5 golden or red shallots, coarsely chopped
5 gm ginger, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp caster sugar
½ vine-ripened tomato, seeds removed, coarsely chopped
Finely grated rind and juice of 1 lime

Cabbage salad

Juice of 2 limes
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp caster sugar
400 gm red cabbage, shredded
1 cup each (loosely packed) mint and coriander, coarsely torn

Method

Main

1
For pounded sambal, preheat oven to 180C. Wrap shrimp paste in foil and roast until pungent (4-5 minutes). Set aside to cool, then pound to a coarse paste in a mortar and pestle with remaining ingredients except lime juice. Add lime juice, stir and season to taste.
2
For cabbage salad, combine lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and 1 tbsp water in a small bowl and mix well. Place cabbage and herbs in separate bowls, add dressing to each and toss to combine.
3
Heat a large frying pan or char-grill pan over high heat. Combine calamari and oil in a bowl, season to taste, then cook, turning occasionally, until golden and cooked through (2-3 minutes). Remove from heat, add sambal to taste, mix to combine, then serve with cabbage and herbs, lime wedges and remaining sambal to the side.