If you are craving delicious Malaysian, Indonesian or Singaporean cuisine, the solution is just a jar away. We have created our own interpretation of the spicy Sambal paste, made entirely from Bulgarian products, but with a traditional Asian flavor. Cooking Southeast Asian dishes in Bulgaria is not an easy task. When one of our Instagram fans wrote to us, we knew we were on the right track. For this purpose, we talked to her, and she made a unique recipe for all of you. We are happy to share the entire interview with her:
What is your name?
My name is Joan. Joan Dolly Chung. Joan Dolly Chung Zee Wei is my full name. Yes, it's real and in my passport, and all the documents have it written in full. This drives a lot of the institutions here in Bulgaria crazy.
Where are you from?
I'm from a small place called Sibu, located in Borneo, the Malaysian part. In short, I'm Malaysian.
How come you live in Bulgaria and for how long?
I live here in Bulgaria because I managed to marry one of your many good-looking men, who turned out to be "lost" at work in Malaysia, and by coincidence we decided that we wanted to start a family here in Bulgaria.
How do you find spices to cook your dishes?
Cooking southeastern cuisine in Bulgaria is not an easy task. But somehow I manage to get acquainted with the products in the supermarkets here, so over time I learned where to find things. For example, I buy different types of soy sauce from the Mandarin supermarket, coriander from Billa near Sofia University, some southeast Asian spices from Zoya.
Describe your cooking style.
My cooking revolves around my Wok. My Wok and I are inseparable. It produces dishes for me from Southeast Asian, all the way to Italian, Indian, Spanish, and Japanese.
Do you prepare Bulgarian dishes - what is your favorite?
I rarely cook Bulgarian dishes. I leave it to the professionals - there are so many amazing restaurants in Sofia. My favorite dish is none other than “cheese fries”.
What is your favorite Chilli Hills product and which one do you use the most?
I can't say who my favorite is. It's like asking me who my favorite child is (when I have children one day).
Birdseye , Piri Piri chili pepper spice mix , I use for Malay dishes. Red Cayenne chili pepper , for Chinese and Indian dishes. They have that smoky flavor unlike Birdseye. I use Cayenne chili pepper to add a rich red color to my dishes. Cajun , a fine spice, when I'm craving seafood, a New Orleans specialty, or fresh chili paste. Red Habanero , when I'm making fried noodles or Indonesian rice.
Joan's Favorite Spicy Pastes - Sambal and Salamurica
Habanero Chilli powder and Joan in action.
A small part of Joan's spicy shelf.
Asam Pedas - Asam Pedas Recipe,
spicy sour recipe (Malaysian sour and slightly spicy stew with shrimp and eggplant).
This dish is one of the many typical Paranaque (descendants of Malays - Singapore-born Chinese) dishes, usually prepared without a recipe, using the agak-agak (trying) method. A favorite among Malaysians and Singaporeans, this dish is both spicy and sour at the same time, with a mild and rich flavor added by turmeric. The recipe I have prepared for you is made with ingredients that are easily available here in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Required products:
To grind in a blender:
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/3 large tomato
1/2 medium red onion
Grated zest of 1 lime
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon fish oil (Maggi uni sauce if you don't have fish oil)
4-8 Chilli Hills Birdseye (Piri Piri chili pepper) *
* Place the dried peppers, recommended (4 is pleasantly hot, 8 is abnormally hot and causes a burning sensation in the stomach after eating) in a small bowl, break the peppers in half and fill with water - about 2 cm from the bottom of the bowl. Heat until boiling and turn off the heat, set aside to cool. Remove the already soaked peppers, remove as many seeds as possible from the peppers (if you want) and put the peppers in the blender.
1 medium eggplant
200-250 g shrimp (without shells; with shells it can be 300 g)
The other 1/2 red onion, quartered
The other 2/3 tomato; cut into bite-sized pieces
3-4 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Fish oil to taste
Salt to taste
Method:
Blend the ingredients set aside for the blender.
Cut the eggplant in half and the halves into bite-sized pieces (about 12 pieces). Either fry them in oil until tender, or steam them for 10 minutes. If frying them, drain off the excess oil and set aside.
In a pan, pour the blended vegetables and pour a little water to clean the blender and pour the water and the remaining vegetables from the blender into the pan. Cook on low heat and stir frequently to evaporate the water from the sauce. When the sauce thickens, add oil and stir again.
When the mixture is simmering, add the steamed/fried eggplants, onions and tomatoes, stirring frequently. When the tomatoes soften, add sugar, stir gently and add the shrimp and cook until done.
In the process, if necessary, add water to prevent the thickened mixture from sticking to the pan.
Season to taste with fish oil or salt, pour the dish hot and serve with boiled white rice, the resulting dish should be spicy, but not tear-jerkingly hot. Enjoy!
**Note: The teaspoons and tablespoons used in this recipe are the standard household measuring cups used for eating. Not the American teaspoons and tablespoons used exclusively for cooking.
