Meet Mersang Chili Paste Recipes

MEET MERSANG (CHILI PASTE)

Steps:

• First combine all dry ingredients.
• Add the pastes and stir a bit.
• THen add vinegar a tablespoon at a time until a smooth but thick paste forms (see photo to get an idea).
• Store in airtight container in refrigerator and it will last for a long time.
• You can marinate fish in this (use a small amount and rub into the fish, marinate a few hrs in the fridge and cook as desired).
• I will post various recipes using this lovely paste.

IN THE BLACK CHILI PASTE

Steps:

• Your chili paste will use whatever kinds and heat-scale of chiles that you like. The paste I make, my own self, uses mostly ancho chiles, a large, juicy, dark purple pod that came from in New Mexico on Earth That Was. I like the mild heat and smoky flavor. The guajillo peppers are good for that, too. Sometimes I add some chipotle or cascabel , or for extra heat. Other folks who like Earth That Was Chinese often use tien tsin peppers, or for Indian use sanaam or dundicuts. Of course, the fun part is coming up with your own combination that's perfect for you.
• Okay, first off, remember that you're going to be handling chile peppers. They're hot. It's up to you whether or not you get some gloves from the medic to do the job of keeping your hands covered, but I can tell you from experience that without them... forgetting about having made chili paste and rubbing your eyes or other sensitive nether parts later on can be painful. My own self, I wear the gloves.
• Let's do this thing! Go ahead and weigh out 6 ounces of your choice of dried chiles. Remove the stems and all the seeds and discard them.
• Put the cleaned chiles into a galley bowl and pour boiling water over them until they're covered. Let 'em soak for 30 minutes.
• Drain the water from the chiles (you can keep the water and use it with your noodles, iffen you like).
• Find the food processor or food mill in the galley and put the soaked chiles in there, then purée them thoroughly. If you use a processor, press the resulting puree through a sieve to get a totally smooth paste. If you use a mill, it'll come out as a smooth paste from that. You'll have about 1 1/2 cups of chili paste.
• Get yourself a clean jar with a tight lid that's large enough and put the paste into it, then pour some vegetable oil over so that there's a couple of centimeters oil on top of the paste. The oil helps preserve the paste and it'll keep several months in the fridge this way. Without the oil, it'll keep for about 14 days.
• There, now you've got yourself your own Heat. Experiment with different kinds of dried chiles you find in port, and enjoy!
• Note: this recipe is included in the cookbook "Big Damn Chefs: The International Browncoat Charity Cookbook" and is my own recipe. "Big Damn Chefs" is available at BigDamnChefs.com and is a collaborative charity project. It is collection of recipes submitted by fans (also known as Browncoats) of Joss Whedon's "Firefly" television show.

THAI ROASTED CHILI PASTE (NAHM PRIK PAO)

Steps:

• In a wok or a small, heavy skillet, dry fry the chilies over med-low heat until the darken and become fragrant and brittle, 3-5 minutes. Remove and transfer to a plate to cool.
• Increase the heat to medium and dry fry the shallots and garlic, turning them occasionally, until they are softened, wilted, and blistered.
• Stem the chilies and discard most of the seeds. Crumble the chilies into small pieces. Trim the shallots and garlic, discarding the peel and root ends, and chop coarsely. Combine the chilies, shallots, and garlic in a mini-processor or blender and pulse to a coarse paste. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and grind to a fairly smooth paste. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
• Pour the remaining 1/4 cup oil into the wok or a skillet. Place over medium heat until a bit of the paste added to the pan sizzles at once, about 1 minute. Add the ground chili paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until the paste gradually darkens and releases a rich fragrance, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Combine the sugar, tamarind, soy sauce, and salt in a small bowl and stir well. Add this mixture to the cooked chili paste and stir to combine. The paste will be quite oily, and must be well stirred before each use. Transfer to a jar, cap tightly, and refrigerate for up to one month. Use at room temp in recipes or as a condiment.

CHILI PASTE

Steps:

• Mix 1/2 teaspoon of each fruit zest and all the juices with other ingredients.
• Add more spices if desired.
• Let stand at least 30 minutes before using (it should thicken).

BREADED CHILI SHRIMP

Steps:

• Take your peeled, deveined and cleaned prawns with tails left on and make sure they are dried off.
• Rub them with the meet mersang (dont use a lot, just rub it into the prawns not leaving clumps of paste behind, but a nice rubbed in color).
• Place in a bowl, cover it, and refrigerate for 2 hours or so.
• After two hours, make your batter.
• Take your corn starch, ap flour, salt and pepper and combine.
• add egg white, and then start adding milk, whisking vigorously until you have created a thin but not watery batter (you will use this batter to dip the shrimp in, to then coat with bread crumbs.
• Heat your oil for deep frying.
• After you have created your batter, take your shrimp out of the fridge, and one by one dip into the batter and then coat in bread crumbs completely, and make a single layer of the shrimp on a plate to begin frying.
• After they are all coated, begin, in batches, frying the shrimp.
• This will take only a couple of minutes per shrimp.
• Fry them until a deep golden brown on the outside.
• Drain on papertowels and keep them close to the stove covered to keep warm til all prawns are fried.
• Serve with condiments of your choice and enjoy!

SATE BABI (OR AYAM)

Steps:

• Cut the pork up, into cubes.
• Make a marinade from the remaining ingredients.
• Add the meat and leave to marinate for 30 minutes minimum.
• Skewer the meat onto metal or bamboo/wooden skewers, if you use the wooden soak for half an hour in water, keep the marinade.
• Roast them under a grill, in a grill pan or best of all on the barbeque until done, usually about ten minutes or shorter.
• Baste with the remaining marinade during cooking.