Food for thought!
Indonesian is one of the world’s most diverse countries. This is hardly surprising since the country is world’s largest archipelago, stretching some 3,200 miles (5,100 km) east to west and consisting of around 6,000 populated islands and 17,000 islands in total. Hence, with more than 300 ethnic groups, Indonesia has a great variety of cuisines.
Bali is an island province of Indonesia, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, located east of Java and west of Lombok. Bali is unique in as much it is the only Hindu-majority province in Indonesia. Around 83% of the island’s population adhere to Balinese Hinduism, while the rest of Indonesia has an overwhelming Muslim majority population.
Here’s a recipe for a vegetarian version of an easy-to-make Balinese inspired vegetable soup:
Balinese Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
8 oz (225 g) French beans
2 pints (1.2 lit) of lightly salted water
14 fl oz (400 ml) coconut milk
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
4 almonds, finely chopped
1 tbsp (15 ml) coriander seeds, dry-fried
2 tbsp (30 ml) vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 tbsp (30 ml) lemon juice
8 oz (225 g) bean sprouts
2 bay leaves
8 thin lemon wedges
Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Step 1 – Top and tail the French beans, then cut into ½ ‘’ long pieces. Bring the salted water to the boil, then add the beans and cook for 3-4 minutes. Drain the beans, but reserve the water.
Step 2 – Finely grind the chopped garlic, the almonds, half of the chilly and coriander seeds to a fine paste, using a pestle and mortar or use a food processor.
Step 3 – Heat the oil in a wok, lightly fry the onion and then remove and set aside. Add the nutty paste to the wok and fry for about 2 minutes without allowing it to brown.
Step 4 – Pour the reserved vegetable water into the wok. Set aside 4 tbsp (60 ml) of cream from coconut milk. Add the remaining coconut milk to the wok, bring to boil and add the bay leaves. Cook in the uncovered wok for 15 – 20 minutes.
Step 5 – First reserve a small amount of beans, fried onions and remainder of chilly for garnish, and then stir the rest into the soup. Add the lemon wedges, coconut cream and seasoning, stirring well. Pour the soup into into individual bowls and serve. Top the soup with the reserved garnish.
Serves 8 – each serving has approximately 60 kcal, 2 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat, 1 g fibre
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