Saturday 23 March 2013

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...


16 comments:

  1. Sounds great. I can't find lime leaves here. Would some lime juice give some of the same result?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it'll work. Can't promise it'll be the same though...

      Delete
  2. What delicious ingredients - this sounds amazing!
    Mary x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, Michael, this sounds wonderful! And of course, I think you have finally inspired me to make my own Sambal!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jenn. It's actually pretty simple. You can play around and I know you'll make a delicious sambal.

      Delete
  4. That sounds lovely - I'm getting hungry again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh me too... but I have eating disorder: can't stop. :)

      Delete
  5. Michael, I would for sure need a 2nd helping of rice if this was served on my dinner table! Looks delish!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Angie! You'll definitely enjoy this dish.

      Delete
  6. The American in me always says toona fish and my Aussie husband says, "Isn't t"ew"na always fish?"

    My reply is always, "oh shut up." :)

    He wouldn't say a word if I made this because he'd be afraid I'd eat it all myself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good reply :) lol. I'm afraid once you make this toona dish once, you'll want to make it again and again...

      Delete
  7. Hehe indeed, I love using my mother's recipes and she has really come around to sharing them with me which she never used to! Thanks for this recipe Michael (and your mum!) :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My mother rarely share her recipes... But I find ways to borrow/steal them :)

      Delete
  8. Yum! Now, excuse me for being a philistine, but could you use good quality tinned tuna (don't judge me, please!) since the fresh stuff is shredded and fried? It's hard for us to get good fresh tuna (or even average fresh tuna) and I'd hate to miss out...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Lucy! I have tried using tinned tuna before. It may work, I think... but I would still fry them a bit though to get the crispy edges. Do let me know if you try making it with tinned tuna :)

      Delete