Spicy Shrimp

I really love Sumatran spicy sauce (balado). Usually, I made it by grinding the ingredients manually so I’ll have the “rough” texture of the spicy sauce. Once upon a time, I ate at a famous Padang restaurant and tasted a spicy and sweet shrimp balado - fell in love at once. The sauce texture is super smooth with strong taste of spices with a little bit of sweetness (well indeed it’s hot) - and, here it is (Taste: 99% same with one I ate).

Even tho my mother and her family spent their childhood in a modern European country, but they still hold the traditional Javanese principles. So I grew up in a semi-traditional Javanese family... there, existed the unwritten rules that all girls in the family should at least “assisting” in the kitchen, until such time we have our own life and out of Mama’s house. As such, I’ve been trying various style of cooking balado and each has its own tastiness. Basic ingredients will be chili/cayenne along with shallots, garlic and various herbs and spices. For this type of balado, mine will use turmeric (for the color and special aroma), candlenut, lemongrass, coriander and bay leaf (lime leaf just too strong for me. only use this for meat balado). This time, I added galangal - voila, so good. Let it simmer and cook it until thick. I prefer my balado to be slightly dry but in a “large quantities” LOL. You barely see the shrimp because of the myriad of sauce. Let’s eat!