Tuna in Spicy Kaffir Lime Leaves Sambal

One of the things that I have been doing whilst home is testing and stealing mom's recipes.  This is another one of her recipe that I absolutely love and I think you will too.

I love tuna fish and when it's cooked in this spicy, but at the same time, refreshing sambal, it is out of this world.  The tuna is first fried in some vegetable oil and then shredded.  Just use regular tuna here please; don't waste your money and getting the grade A tuna or often called sushi/sashimi grade tuna which are best enjoyed rare. 

Now, the all important spicy kaffir lime sambal.  Start with basic sambal mixture of red chillies, garlic, shallots and tomatoes; and to that add some galangal.  Put all of them in a blender to create a smooth paste.  If you haven't come across galangal before, it looks almost like ginger (they could be cousin) and it has a mild, peppery flavour.

Cook this paste in some vegetable oil in a pan big enough to hold the shredded tuna later.  To that add a couple of stalks of lemongrass which need to be bruised a bit to release its flavour; and the magic ingredient, lots of kaffir lime leaves which I like to snip into little pieces so that they disperse in the sambal.  The combination of the aromatic citrus of the kaffir lime leaves with the sambal is just beautiful.  You may need to add a bit of water if the sambal looks like it's drying out.  Adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and sugar.  For this particular sambal, I like it quite zingy, and this is my own addition, lime juice.  

When the sambal is cooked, throw in the shredded tuna and toss it around so that it's all coated with the sambal.  Serve over hot white rice.  Yum...