Sweet & sour pickle of tropical fruits, toasted peanuts
Karma Kandara’s Executive Chef Joseph Antonishek shares an upscale prawn version of the Indonesian Asinan served in warungs and kaki limas ‘street-side vendors.’
’
Asinan refers to preserved fruits or vegetables in either a brine or vinegar salt solution. There are two common types of Asinan in Indonesia: Betawi (Jakarta) and Bogor from West Java.
The Betawi style consists of Chinese cabbage, bean sprouts, tofu and lettuce in a hot peanut vinegar sauce with peanuts sprinkled on top.
Explains Chef Joseph: ‘My personal preference and especially for the beach is the Bogor style in which crunchy green mango, kedondong, pineapple and jicama are pickled in a sweet and sour style; served chilled and topped with crunchy fried peanuts.’
He adds that at Karma Beach, they upgrade this classic street side dish by adding chilled jumbo prawns making it a perfect refreshing dish to enjoy lounging on the beach.
‘It’s sweet, sour, a little bit salty and a perfect pairing for a tropical New Zealand sauvignon blanc.’
Asinan
Ingredients
Garnish
Technique
- Place the chilies in a blender and puree smooth. You can add a touch of water if you need to get it going.
- In a medium size pot add the chili paste, water, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
- Add the vinegar and continue to cook for 15 minutes or until the sugar has dissolved.
- Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh sieve into a storage container.
- Let cool to room temperature
- Once cool, add the lemon juice, green mango, pineapple and kedongdong.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Just before serving, separate a little bit of the liquid and place in a bowl. Combine with the chilled prawns to add flavor.
- Add the bengkuang/Jicama to the pickled fruit mixture.
- Divide the fruit and liquid evenly between five bowls.
- Top with starfruit and prawns.· Garnish with fried peanuts, chili slices, radish and kemangi leaves.
