Udang Balado (Spicy Shrimp)

Indonesian Appetizer

UDANG BALADO
(Spicy Shrimp)

INGREDIENTS

3 birds’ eye, piri piri, or Thai chiles
2 garlic cloves
2 shallots
1 Roma tomato
1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
1¼ pounds shrimp (peeled, deveined, 30 count)
1½ tablespoons lime juice
¾ teaspoon palm sugar, coconut sugar, or sugar

SPECIAL UTENSIL

food processor or spice grinder

Serves 12 as an appetizer, 4 as an entree Takes 20 minutes.

PREPARATION

Add chiles, garlic cloves, shallots, and tomato to food processor. Process until you get a spicy paste. Add oil to large pan. Heat oil at medium heat until a little bit of the paste starts to dance in the oil. Add spice paste. Sauté at medium-high heat for 4 minutes or until paste becomes fragrant. Stir constantly. Add shrimp, lime juice, and sugar. Sauté for 4 minutes or until shrimps have just turned pink on both sides. Stir constantly. Goes well with rice and parsley.

TIDBITS

1) Carl La Fong, of Bittburg, Germany, invented the first true automobile. It had a few teething problems, though. So he quite often took the Fongmobile on test spins in town.

2) On August 14, 1884, a wheel fell off his car right by Germany’s only Indonesian restaurant. La Fong shook his fist. “The danged wheel keeps falling off.” The restaurateur, Otto Udang Balado, said, “I know duct tape fixes nearly everything, but maybe if you attached the wheel with lug nuts instead, the wheel might stay on. But ach, where are my manners? I’m discussing your problems when you must be famished. Come inside. Eat.”

3) Otto served Carl his signature dish, Udang Balado. Carl fell in love with it. Otto, however, saw in his entree how and where to put the lug nuts. Pleasant words went on and before they knew they had swapped businesses. Carl’s new restaurant became quite successful.

4) Alas, Otto Bolado’s new business, Otto Mobiles failed. He simply could not perfect his car before Karl Benz did. So, Herr Benz got all the credit. Now you know.

– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D.

My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.