Pineapple, Ginger and Tofu Curry

My husband is excellent when it comes to eating his vegetables, but when it comes to eating fresh fruit he is a bit lazy.  The one time he'll tuck into a bowl of fruit is when its chopped up into little pieces and given to him as a fruit salad. Well no jewelled fruit or berry studded salad here.  Instead I present you with a savoury pineapple dish coated in thick, spicy coconut cream.

Pineapples are not widely used in Indonesian cooking, however this recipe is adapted and inspired by a dish from the city of Palebang in South Sumatra.

I have to admit, I would never had thought of combining these ingredients together, but I was encouraged by the recipe suggestion.  The curry was enjoyable, both sweet and savoury.  The taste reminded us both of Peshwari Naan bread; a South Asian sweet bread that is often served with spicy dishes.  I also found the surprise ginger hit wonderful against the juicy bursts of the pineapple chunks.

The tofu is optional, added namely for bulk and texture.  This curry is best eaten on the day.  If you leave it overnight, the flavours intensify and it become overly sweet, and this is meant to be a savoury curry, not a dessert.  I served it simply with plain boiled Basmati rice.

Pineapple and Tofu Curry
Serves 4
Ingredients
Optional: 300g firm tofu
1 pineapple, peeled and chopped into medium-sized cubes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 - 3 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2½ inch ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 – 3 teaspoons red chilli flakes
150g block coconut cream
½ pint water
Coriander or mint leaves for garnish
Salt and black pepper to taste.
Optional: Lime wedge for serving
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the shallots and garlic. Saute for around 2-3 minutes until soft and add the chilli flakes, coriander, ginger and saute for another 3 minutes. Add water, coconut milk and pineapple. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat to medium-low. Add tofu if using, then cover. Cook for 6-8 minutes. Stir in the coriander and season with salt and black pepper to taste.  Serve with plain boiled rice topped with a lime wedge. Recipe adapted from here.

Indonesian Savoury Pineapple Rice

I don’t know how authentic a Indo-Malay dish this is, but I have seen a number of Thai recipes for it.  I also found a Pineapple Fried Rice recipe on Rasa Malaysia (the site where I sought inspiration for the Malaysian Back Pepper Tofu), so it must surely exist.

I was never one for blending sweet and savoury flavours, but my tastes have developed so much since leaving home for University.  It may be a strange thing to say, but the flavours in this Indonesian Savoury Pineapple Rice were reminisce of Peshwari Naan.  A Peshwari naan is a traditional recipe where the naan is stuffed with a combination of almonds, apples, cinnamon, coconut, raisins and sultanas. Its often served with spicy curries. 

Anyway back to the Savoury Pineapple rice - it had texture from the cashew nuts and coconut, flavour and colour from the peas and juicy pineapple chunks.  I liked it,  but for my own reasons would have preferred a little more spice, perhaps a little sprinkling of chilli flakes.

The recipe does advise to hollow the fresh pineapple out with leaves in tact, so it can then be served as a plate for the pineapple rice. I haven't bothered with presentation purely  because I would  have been impatient with carving process, plus I wasn't in the mood to impress, but please don't let me stop you if you wish to do this.  It will definitely have 'wowzee' visual impact.  

Ketjap manis is an Indonesian soy sauce, which is sweeter and less salty than other types. If you can’t get it, just use normal soy sauce, and add a teaspoon of brown sugar; or a dash of honey. Oh I should mention, although I've used fresh pineapple for this recipe, you can if you wish use tinned pineapples for this recipe. I also think this recipe would be good served at room temperature too. So one for the lunch or picnic basket is you so desire.

Indonesian Savoury Pineapple Rice
Serves 4
Ingredients
300g Basmati rice, cooked and set aside.
1 large pineapple,
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 onion, peeled and minced
100g whole cashew nuts, toasted under the grill
140g frozen peas, thawed
3 – 4 tablespoons Ketjap Manis
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut, toasted under the grill

Method

Peel the pineapple, chop in half and discard the hard core. Then chop the flesh into ¼ inch pieces.
Heat the sesame oil in a wide pan, add the onion and cook until tender. Then turn the heat down, and stir in 4 – 6 tablespoons of the cooked rice together with the pineapple chunks, cashews, peas, ketjap manis and the sugar. Then stir in the remaining rice. Taste and add a little more ketjap manis if necessary. Heat until the rice has warmed up, then pile onto plates and sprinkle over the dessicated coconut.

Serve and enjoy!  Adapted from Rose Elliot's Vegetarian Supercook

Nasi Goreng

The first time I ever tasted Nasi Goreng was whilst at University. D was sharing University accommodation with a number of Indonesian students at the time. On this one day evening, the Indonesian student were having a 'get together' and cooked up a big meal, so we were fortunate enough to be given a bowlful of Nasi goreng to try. Nasi Goreng is a spicy Indonesian fried rice dish. The sauce was not made from scratch, but came out of a sachet (well we were students). I learned later that the sachet sauce contained dried shrimps, a bit like some Thai green curry sauces you find at the supermarkets. Anyway, since then I never got round to tasting a vegetarian version of Nasi Goreng or any other Indonesian dish as there were no Indonesian restaurants around here.

I was prompted to make this dish simply because I had a few sad looking cabbages sitting on my vegetable shelf, crying out to be used. So I flicked through a few of my cookbooks and decided to make my own Nasi goreng with fresh ingredients - the green cabbage, onions, garlic, red chillies (dry), spring onions and peas (albeit frozen ones) were all mine.
D had reservations, in fact he thought the dish would be a bit on the dry side, but it wasn't and in the end he really did end up enjoying it saying ‘you can make this again’. He does make me smile.
Nasi Goreng
Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients
For the chilli sambal
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
2 inch piece fresh root ginger, minced
4 tomatoes, chopped
2 red chillies, fresh or dry, chopped (and deseeded if you wish)
For the rice
4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small green or white cabbage, finely sliced
200g, long-grain rice, boiled
2 red chillies, fresh or dry, sliced (and deseeded if you wish)
60g cooked peas
1 – 2 tablespoons of ketjap manis (Indonesian soy sauce)
4 spring onions, sliced (for garnish)
Method
For the chilli sambal, blend together all the ingredients in a blender to form a smooth paste. Set aside. For the rice, heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion and garlic till translucent, then add the cabbage and cook until the cabbage is tender. Stir in the chilli sambal and mix well. Cook gently for a couple of minutes, then add the cooked rice and chilli. Cook gently for 5 minutes until the ingredients look well combined. Stir in the peas and ketjap manis, stir well, before serving with some sliced spring onions. The original recipe says to serve it with plum sauce and a fried egg, but I did neither as it was tasty without. Adapted from Paul Gaylers Vegetarian cookbook.

The Indonesian students had also introduced me to what I now call a guilty pleasure: Sriacha Hot Chilli Sauce. It’s rather naughty of me, as it contains a lot of E numbers, but I do like it now and again squirted over fat potato chips, the spice kick is a guilty pleasure of mine truly.