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Ají amarillo pasteYellow chilli paste

In Lima's markets ají amarillo is sold fresh all year, and most Peruvian cooks keep a tub of this paste in the fridge the way others keep tomato purée: it is the golden base of causa limeña, ají de gallina, papa a la huancaína, chupe and the sauce for tiraditos. The chillies are seeded, de-veined and blanched in three changes of water, which tames the heat and the raw grassiness, then peeled and blended with oil into a thick, silky, saffron-orange paste. It tastes fruity and sunny, almost like apricot and passion fruit, with a rounded, medium heat. Abroad, buy whole frozen ají amarillo from Latin grocers; dried ají mirasol, soaked, gives a darker, earthier paste. Common mistake: skipping the peeling; the thin skins leave papery flecks and a bitter edge. It is ready when it is completely smooth and holds a soft peak like thick hummus. This is a low-acid paste: keep it in the fridge for a week or freeze it, never on the shelf. Chef's tip: freeze it in an ice-cube tray; one cube is about a tablespoon, just right for a pot of ají de gallina.

40 min

Peruvian Basics

by KrazyBadal 0 views

TempoyakFermented durian

When the durian season peaks in Pahang and Perak, from June to August, there are always more fallen, over-ripe fruit than anyone can eat, and the surplus becomes tempoyak. The flesh is mashed with salt, packed into a jar (traditionally a clay tajau) and left for a few days until it turns from sweet and custardy to pale, sharply sour and powerfully aromatic. In Temerloh it is cooked into gulai tempoyak ikan patin, a yellow river-fish curry; elsewhere it is pounded with chilli into sambal tempoyak for raw ulam, or stirred into stir-fried greens. Abroad, frozen durian flesh from Asian grocers works well once thawed. The salt level is about 3% of the flesh (15 g to 500 g); do not cut it. Common mistake: letting water in from washed hands, a damp spoon or the outside of the husk, which invites mould; keep everything dry and press out air pockets. It is ready when the colour has faded to ivory, it smells sour and fruity rather than sweet, and it tastes sharply tangy. Chef's tip: everyday kampung durians make better tempoyak than prized varieties; their sharper flavour ferments well.

20 min

Malaysian Basics

by KrazyBadal 0 views