BALI BITES

Favourite delights from Villa Sungai, prepared and developed by passionate Chef Wayan with owner Pamela Hayes.

Betel leaves with Tasmanian salmon, galangal and salmon roe

2 tbsp base paste (recipe right) 4 tbsp red chilli Nahm Jim (recipe right) 400g fresh Australian salmon, cooked just medium to flake stage 2 red eschalots, peeled and thinly sliced 2 long red chillies, seeded and julienned 3 kaffir lime leaves, julienned 1 cup coriander leaves 20 betel leaves (daun sirih in Bali) 50g trout roe crisp-fried eschalots

Method

To make the paste, start by blending or finely chopping the garlic. Heat the oil in a wok and deep-fry the garlic until it is the colour of lightly stained pine. Strain and drain the garlic on absorbent paper and reserve the oil. Return the oil to the wok and heat, then add the chillies and move them around in the oil until they change colour to a deep red, about 10–12 seconds. Remove and drain. Soak the dried prawns in warm water for 10–20 minutes until soft then drain. Dry-roast the galangal in a pan until fragrant and set aside to cool. Pound the garlic, galangal, dried prawns and chillies to a fine paste in a mortar and pestle or blend in a food processor with 100ml of the reserved garlic oil to help the blades move. Remove the paste from the blender and transfer to a heavy-based saucepan on a moderate heat to bring all the flavours together. Add the palm sugar and fish sauce, and stir until the paste is amalgamated and fragrant. Do not caramelise the sugar – just allow it to melt into the paste or it will set hard when cooled. Remove from the heat and cool.