Filipino salad with tinawon rice

• serves

  6

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  45 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 200 g okra, washed and trimmed
• 250 g sweet potato tops, leaves picked
• 250 g kang kung (see Note), leaves picked
• 600 g eggplant, washed and trimmed
• 400 g white radish, peeled and cut into 1 x 5 cm sticks
• 300 g green mango, peeled and cut into 1 cm pieces
• 250 g ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut into petals
• 2 salted duck eggs or hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced
• steamed tinawon or jasmine rice, to serve

Sautéed shrimp paste dressing

• 50 ml vegetable oil
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 80 g white onion, finely chopped
• 120 g pork belly with fat, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 350 g tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 60 g fermented shrimp paste
• 3 red bird's-eye chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp sugar

Peanut sauce

• 100 ml peanut oil
• 200 g raw peanuts
• 2 garlic cloves
• 4 golden eschallots, chopped
• 1 tsp terasi (shrimp paste)
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp tamarind water (see Note)

Instructions

For the sautéed shrimp paste dressing, heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook for 5–6 minutes or until soft. Add the pork, and cook, stirring continuously, for 5 minutes or until cooked. Add the tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes or until mushy. Add the fermented shrimp paste, reduce the heat to low and stir for 5 minutes. Stir in the sugar, remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

For the peanut sauce, heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Fry the peanuts until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Once cool, grind the peanuts in a mortar and pestle or electric blender until finely chopped. Crush the garlic, eschallots and shrimp paste in a mortar and pestle until smooth. When the oil is safe to move, remove all but 1 teaspoon from the wok and place over medium heat. When hot, add the garlic and shrimp mixture and stir for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the chilli, sugar, soy sauce, tamarind water, 500 ml (2 cups) water and peanuts and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 8–10 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and serve warm.

Steam the okra, sweet potato tops and kang kung for 3 minutes, then plunge into ice water to refresh and drain.

Grill the eggplants over an open wood or coal fire until blackened and charred all over. When cool enough to handle, peel and discard blackened skin. 

To serve, place all the vegetables and the egg on a large serving platter. Serve the sauces separately, for dipping.

Note

• To make tamarind water, place 50 g tamarind paste in a heatproof bowl and pour over 150 ml boiling water. Allow to cool, then mix together to combine well. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer, extracting as much liquid as possible, then discard the solids.

• Kang kung, also known as water spinach, is a leafy vegetable readily available from Asian grocers. The leaves have a mild flavour and add a vibrant green colour to dishes.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.