I NEED SOME HEAT- MY VERSION OF THE SAMBAL SHRIMP

I had been to Indonesia only once and that was to get treated to a nice day at the Banyan Tree  at the Bintan Island. And that is as far as my affinity to Indonesia goes.

I tried my hand  at making Sambal Shrimp, but realized quickly that I had to innovate given that my blender has stopped working for weeks now (making it impossible to make the Sambal paste). So here it is...

BLENDERLESS SAMBAL SHRIMP

Spice paste 1 tbsp ready-to-serve crispy red chilies
1 red onion, finely minced and pounded
2 tbsp bagoong

Sambal Sauce
3 tbsp cooking oil
250g shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1 cup water
1 tbsp tamarind paste (mixed with 1/2 cup water & strained)
2 dried kaffir lime leaves (crumbled)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp brown sugar

Mix all spice paste ingredients.

Heat up the oil and stir-fry the spice paste for a minute or so.

 Then, Add the shrimps and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.

Once the fragrance of the sambal pastes fills the room, add in the  water mixed with tamarind paste and bring  to a quick boil.

Add in salt, brown sugar & kaffir lime leaves. 

Serve hot.

I SCREAM FOR SILI ICE CREAM!

Region Five  or the Bicol Region is the Chili capital of the Philippines. So it was no surprise that even desserts are flavored with the spiciest of chilis, Siling Labuyo. Also known as Bird's Eye chili and Mouse Dropping chili, this small capsicum species registers 50,000-100,000 scoville units, the measure of spiciness. It was unseated as the hottest chili pepper by the Habañero and the Naga which measure around 200,000 scoville units. But since this chili is widely available in the country, it is a popular spice in many dishes.

At the 1st Colonial Grill in Naga, I was intrigued when I saw that the dessert listing included Sili Ice cream. Though they also offered other interesting flavors like Pili and Malunggay, it was this red hot flavor ice cream that I ordered.

I was expecting a dramatic red concoction specked with bits of chili but was instead served delightfully pink dessert that reminds one of sweet cotton candy.

But it takes only one teaspoonful of this dessert to remind you that this friendly looking ice cream is, in fact, made of chili. The tongue is initially greeted by cold and then the fire slowly spreads as the cream  melts in your mouth. Fire in the hole! It takes a while to recover from the heat, that the deceptively rosy concoction is a form of fiery sensory torture. Some people may like the experience but for me, one teaspoon was enough.