Mango Kerabu with Ikan Bilis

The other day, I looked at my garden in hopeless resignation. It was one big mess.

Weeds were growing everywhere. Some of my plants needed trimming and I really have to rearrange some of the empty pots (meaning pots containing dead plants).

While inspecting my sorry excuse of a garden, something caught my eye.

Ah! A bunga kantan (torch ginger flower). Isn't it pretty? That means only one thing. I must make kerabu because I love adding bunga kantan to kerabu.

This kerabu was bookmarked for quite some time. It was just a matter of buying unripe mango and getting to work making one of my favorite salads.

Is kerabu easy to make? Yes and no. Yes, because the ingredients are easily available and the method is not complicated. No, because there is a whole lot of work peeling, slicing, grating and pounding. And in this case, some frying. So if lazy is your middle name, forget it hah..hah...

I made this on a public holiday when I had 100 things going on at home. I cleared the garden, I did some food prep for the week, I fried some fish, I did this, I did that and to cut the long story short, I had to give up doing my hair. Hah!

I always do that to myself. Self-inflicted torture. I overachieve and end up wasting my day off. But well, after all that hassle, I get to eat good food. And that is always the best reward.

Kerabu Mangga Ikan Bilis

Recipe source : Adapted from 20 Resipi Kerabu Sheila Rusly (page 36)

For the salad :

- 2 unripe mangoes, shredded

- 1 big onion, thinly sliced

- 1 red chili, thinly sliced

- 6 cherry tomatoes, sliced

- 1 bunga kantan, thinly sliced

- A generous handful of ikan bilis, fried till crispy

For the dressing :

- 6 shallots

- 2 cloves garlic

- 3 red chilies

- 1 teaspoon belacan

- juice of 1 lime or more to taste

- salt and sugar to taste

Method :

1. To make the dressing, pound shallots, garlic, chilies and belacan into a paste.

2. Add lime juice, sugar and salt to the paste, mix and taste. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

3. Put all the salad ingredients into a mixing bowl and add dressing. Toss to mix. Taste and adjust seasoning.

4. Serve immediately.