KRUPUK: Dried crackers made from
shrimps, fish, vegetables or nuts mixed with various
types of flour are used as a garnish or eaten as a snack
in Bali. They must be thoroughly dry before deep frying
in very hot oil for a few seconds, so that they puff
up and become crisp.
LAOS (isen): Sometimes
called galangal, this member of the ginger family has
a very tough but elusively scented root which must be
peeled before use. Substitute slices of dried laos (soaked
in boiling water for 30 minutes) or powdered laos (1
teaspoon = 2.5 cm/I in).
LEMON GRASS (sereh):
This intensely fragrant herb is used to impart a lemony
flavour to soups, seafood and meat dishes and spice
pastes. It can also be used as a skewer for satays.
Cut off the roots and peel off the hard outer leaves;
use only the tender bottom portion (15-20 cm/6-8 in).
If the lemon grass is not required sliced, it is normally
hit a couple of times with the edge of a cleaver or
a pestle to release the fragrance, and tied in a knot
to hold it together during cooking.
LIME: Three types of lime
are encountered in Bali. The most popular and also the
most fragrant is a small, round fruit similar in fragrance
to the leprous or kaffir lime (lemo);
the double leaf of this lime (don lemo) is often
very finely shredded and added to minced fish, or left
whole and added to food cooked in liquid. Use kitchen
scissors to ensure that the leaf is cut into hair-like
shreds. If fragrant lime leaf is not available, use
the zest of a lime or lemon. Lime juice from the Balinese
lemo was used for recipes in this book; however,
the milder juice of a small round thin-skinned lime
(juwuk lengis) is also used in Ball, as elsewhere
in Southeast Asia. A large lime similar to those found
inter- nationally grows in Bali, and makes an acceptable
substitute for the kaffir lime; if limes are not available,
use lemon juice.
NUTMEG (jebog garum):
Always grate whole nutmeg just before using as the powdered
spice quickly loses its fragrance.
PALM SUGAR (gula Bali):
Juice extracted from the coconut flower or aren
palm is boiled and packed into moulds to make sugar
with a faint caramel taste. If palm sugar is not available,
substitute soft brown sugar. To make palm sugar
syrup, combine 2 cups of chopped palm sugar with I cup
of water and 2 pandan leaves. Bring to boil,
simmer 10 minutes, strain and store in refrigerator.
PANDAN LEAF (don pandan);
The fragrant leaf of a type of pandanus sometimes known
as fragrant screwpine, this is tied in a knot and used
to flavour desserts and cakes.
PEANUTS (kacang tanah)
: Used raw and ground to make sauce, or deep fried and
used
