Sayur lemak with masin ikan (vegetables cooked in coconut milk with salt cod)
Sayur lemak, which roughly translates as creamy vegetables, is made by cooking vegetables with plenty of coconut milk, lemongrass, turmeric and sambal belacan (a spicy shrimp paste-based chilli sauce). In this version of the dish, Ramael Scully adds meaty flakes of salt cod, which absorb the rich, creamy sauce beautifully.
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
Sambal belacan
- 50g of shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 10g of garlic, peeled
- 70g of shrimp paste, or belacan
- 100g of red chillies, deseeded
- 100g of whole dried kashmiri chilli, deseeded, and soaked in warm water
- 40g of tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cane sugar
Sayur lemak
- 150g of vegetable oil
- 150g of shallots, thinly sliced widthways
- 20g of garlic, minced
- 30g of ginger, minced
- 5g of fresh turmeric, or 1tsp ground turmeric
- 3 lemongrass sticks, lightly bruised with a knife and finely chopped
- 5 makrut lime leaves
- 400g of coconut milk
- 100g of water
- 100g of snake beans, cut into 3cm lengths
- 100g of okra, trim the tops but leave the okra whole
- 100g of cavolo nero, roughly chopped
- 100g of spinach
- 500g of salt cod fillet, soaked in water for 24 hours, skin and bones removed, then flaked into large pieces
- 3 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cane sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 160°C
Wrap the belacan in foil, and roast it in the oven for 10-20 minutes, or until fragrant
- 70g of shrimp paste, or belacan
Pound or blitz the shallots, garlic, belacan, fresh chillies and dried chillies together until they form a smooth or coarse paste. This can be done in a blender or pestle and mortar
- 50g of shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
- 10g of garlic, peeled
- 100g of red chillies, deseeded
- 100g of whole dried kashmiri chilli, deseeded, and soaked in warm water
Add tamarind and lime juice, then season with a pinch of salt and sugar. Sambal belacan can be stored in the fridge for a few days or frozen. Defrost the paste before using as needed
- 40g of tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cane sugar
In a medium saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over a medium-high heat. Sauté the shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass and lime leaves until they are soft and transparent. Add 3-4 tbsp of the sambal belacan and sauté until everything is fragrant. Add the coconut milk and water, then bring everything to the boil
- 150g of vegetable oil
- 150g of shallots, thinly sliced widthways
- 20g of garlic, minced
- 30g of ginger, minced
- 5g of fresh turmeric, or 1tsp ground turmeric
- 3 lemongrass sticks, lightly bruised with a knife and finely chopped
- 5 makrut lime leaves
- 400g of coconut milk
- 100g of water
Add the snake beans and okra, then cook everything for 2-3 mins. Add the cavolo nero and spinach, and cook for another 2-3 mins or until all the greens are just tender
- 100g of snake beans, cut into 3cm lengths
- 100g of okra, trim the tops but leave the okra whole
- 100g of cavolo nero, roughly chopped
- 100g of spinach
Fold in the salted cod flakes gently, stir for a minute, then season the whole dish with lime juice, salt and sugar. Serve with steamed rice, boiled eggs and thinly sliced cucumber
- 500g of salt cod fillet, soaked in water for 24 hours, skin and bones removed, then flaked into large pieces
- 3 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 pinch of cane sugar
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