Here it is. Do remember though, that cooking should be creative and free, so don't fret if it is slightly more or less.
Lengkuas (aka Galangal): ~200g
Young ginger: ~100g
Turmeric: ~50g
Shallots: ~750g
Candlenuts: ~100g
Dried red chilli: ~30g
Lemongrass: ~7 stalks
Fresh red chilli: ~450g
Garlic: ~1 bulb
Salt: ~1 1/2 tsp (add when you are frying the rempah)
Sugar: ~1 tsp (add when you are frying the rempah)
Vegetable oil: ~1 rice bowl (for frying the rempah)
By all means, go ahead and adjust the proportions. If you like it more spicy, add more chilli. If you like it more nutty, add more candlenuts. You call the shots ;)
As you pound/blitz the ingredients, adding vegetable oil in small quantities gives you a smoother blend. No measurements for this ... just pour a little here and there as you pound/blitz.
Fry over a low flame for about 1 hour, stirring all the time, until the oil floats to the top. Cool completely before scooping into a sterilised container. Freeze.
You will notice that this batch of rempah is a lot redder than the previous one I made. The difference is in the dried red chilli. I omitted it the last time because I only remembered them when I was about to start making the rempah, and since they take time to soften in water, I left them out.
I got an "earful" from my granny when I casually mentioned it to her. LOL! She roared and chided (in a doting sort of fashion), saying I would not achieve that gorgeous red hue. So, like a good girl, the first ingredient I bought today was the dried red chilli. Yup, granny takes her cooking very seriously, heh heh.
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I agree with you, cooking is creation and freedom, I am very found of curry but I definitely prefer "piment de cayenne"
ReplyDeleteHave a nice day
I love this! It looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteAnd so good for you! I love granny:) I can just picture the two of you..Thank you for taking the time to weigh your handfuls:)
ReplyDeleteLovely!!
ReplyDeleteI have to salute you, that's a lot of rempah ! And you pound ! I bet your fingers are yellow now.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy curry! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteOh this looks wonderful Little T...
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have bite!
I love curry from all cultures! I have never heard of candlenuts (I love discovering new foods :-), so I googled them. Wikipedia says that macadamia nuts may be substituted due to the same high oil content and flavor. What would granny say?? I'd love to make this.
ReplyDeleteThanks for making this again for us...Diane
In cucina mi piace sperimentare e imparare cose nuove, grazie per farmi conoscere le ricette della tua tradizione.
ReplyDeleteCiao Daniela.
I love curry, actually who doesn't? Anyone allergic to curry?
ReplyDeleteGalangal might be a problem for me to find them, I guess I need to visit Asian stores. Recipe bookmarked!
Angie's Recipes
Thanks everyone!
ReplyDeleteDiane: Granny approves of macademias!
Angie: See whether there is powdered Galangal available, if fresh one is not easy to find. Worst case scenario, just omit it.
Music you can eat! I love the fact you don't specify quantities exactly. So many people get hung up on a half ounce of this or that. A good meal should be unique - and therefore totally unrepeatable. I'm off to the kitchen right now! :-)
ReplyDeleteLooks amazingly appetizing!!
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna fly over and grab some candlenuts!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely stealing this recipe and making a batch as well!
ReplyDeleteMark, you put it so eloquently :) Thank you!
ReplyDeletemycookinghut, Kenny, Penny: Thanks!!!
I'm really loving the recipes on your blog. Can't wait to try some of them. This is great.
ReplyDeleteHey made up some Rempah from your recipe and made up a fish curry dish for my Malaysian friends here in Australia. I think they were genuinely impressed with it so thanks!
ReplyDeletenooschi: Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMattyG: Good to know!!!
Ju,
ReplyDeleteCan I just use all dried chili instead of a mixture of frwsh and dry? Because fresh cilies are so expensive in Australia! They're selling at AUD29.99 per kilo. As for dried chilies, they are selling for AUD1.65 per kilo from asian groceries!
Quinn, I haven't tried making rempah using dried chilli exclusively. Having said that, I still think you need a mix of the 2. If you look at my recipe, the ratio of fresh to dried is 450g : 30g ... so, if I were to go through all the work of making rempah, I wouldn't leave them out. Having said that, it IS helluva expensive to buy fresh chillis Down Under!! I alsmot fell off my chair when I read your comment!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing this wonderful recipe. I followed your recommended proportions and was rewarded with a wonderfully aromatic rempah. Will try cooking chilli crab with this soon. Thanks again for being so generous with the sharing.
ReplyDeleteAnon, I feel really happy whenever someone else has success with my recipes! :))) Thanks for reading my blog.
ReplyDeleteYour rempah looks n sounds absolutely gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the recipe, Ju. I WILL definitely try to make it. My daughter said i must read your blog n she is right.
ReplyDeleteHi Iris, thanks for dropping by. I am so flattered by your comment. Cheers!
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to make your rempah in view of us moving to the US for good. Need a stash of all sorts of chilli pastes! May I ask what are some dishes the rempah can be used to prepare besides, chicken & fish curry?
ReplyDeleteAnon: So many things! :) You can use a tablespoon or 2 to stirfry all sorts of veggies, like brinjals and long beans (add some stock or water if too dry). Or you can cube some potatoes, fry them, then add some rempah to coat them, and you get curried potatoes. OR if you have some laksa leaves, you can use the rempah and make laksa! You can also make fry with tempeh (add some coconut milk to make a little bit of gravy) and it's delicious. Rempah is a wonderful base for so many dishes. Good luck on your move and I wish you a wonderful new beginning!
ReplyDeleteHi Ju,
ReplyDeleteCook this rempah yesterday but seems like mine comes out very dark red and a bit dry. Is there anything wrong?
Delia: Hmmm ... dark red - maybe you fried it too long? I am guessing only. Did you use all dried chilli or a mix of fresh & dried? As for a bit dry, you need more oil then. Rempah needs a lot of oil. It's better to have more oil than too little oil, cos you can always skim off the excess and use as chilli oil.
ReplyDeleteHi Ju
ReplyDeleteWanted to say thank you for your rempah recipe which I used it to make Laksa for my house warming over the weekend. In addition, the mango ice cream was great too. My friends love it. It was a lot of hardwork, as I took double the time needed to make the rempah. But it was all worth it. I added blended shrimps to the rempah as well. However, I could not get the final part of oil floating on top of the paste even though i placed one whole rice bowl of oil. Thanks.
Mudpie Munkey
Hi Ju, thank you for this delicious rempah! I have just made this and it was such a boo-boo as I threw everything into the food processor and then fried them (because I was too lazy to do all that pounding) Obviously it turned out very very coarse - I was really reluctant to throw them out so I blitzed it again in the food processor until it formed into a paste and re-fried again for a few minutes. Wow, it was super delicious, I couldn't stop eating from the jar!! Tomorrow I will try to make the fish and chicken recipes using this rempah. Many thanks again! :-)
ReplyDeleteJust wondering how long can the rempah be stored in the fridge? Does it need to be frozen?
ReplyDeleteHi Ju, why do I take so long to get to know your blog? I hope I didn't miss out a lot & hope to catch up with you. Thank you for you introduction & I can empathize with growing up kids and like an octopus in managing everything, yet loving cooking great meal for family.im just at the sart of my cooking /baking etc journey & hope to learn more from you:)
ReplyDeleteHey, thanks for dropping by! Hope you'll find recipes you and your family will enjoy. :)
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