Malay Spice Paste for Chicken Rendang
This is a fairly pungent spice paste. It can be made milder by leaving out some of the chillies.
Ingredients
- 6 fresh red chillies, seeded and sliced
- 12 shallots, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2.5cm / 1in piece fresh turmeric root, peeled and sliced or 5ml / 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 10 macadamia nuts
- 2.5cm / 1in cube of shrimp paste (blachan), prepared
- 3 lemon grass stalks
Preparation
 |
- Place the chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, nuts and shrimp paste (blachan) in a food processor.
- Trim the root end from the lemon grass and slice the lower 5cm / 2in of the stalk into thin slices using a sharp knife.
- Add the lemon grass to the remaining ingredients in the food processor and process them to a fine paste, scraping down the side of the bowl once or twice during processing.
COOK'S TIP
Use the curry paste at once or spoon into a glass jar, seal it tightly and store in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. Alternatively, transfer the paste to a plastic tub and store in the freezer.
Makes about 350g / 12oz.