Indonesian seafood curry
The BBC presenter and chef shares a dish from his new restaurant in Dorset
Forty years after opening their flagship Padstow restaurant, The Seafood, Rick and Jill Stein have launched their biggest restaurant yet – Rick Stein, Sandbanks, overlooking Poole harbour in Dorset.
Rick says: ‘My son Jack has this idea to fnd dishes from all over the world and cook them faithfully to the original recipes, but using our superb British ingredients.
‘With this philosophy in mind, the menu at Sandbanks includes dishes from across the globe. However, we also serve much-loved British and French classics like Roast turbot with hollandaise sauce, Dover sole à la meunière and Grilled lobster, which we’ve been cooking at The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow from the beginning.’
Indonesian seafood curry
I was so impressed with this aromatic curry when I was filming in Bali that I now serve it in my restaurants. All the hard work is done ahead in the making of the spice paste (see recipe overleaf) – the actual cooking of the fish only takes minutes. I pair it with a fresh bean and coconut salad (recipe overleaf).
SERVES 4 PREP 15 mins COOK 10 mins
250g whole medium squid, cleaned (ask your fshmonger to do this for you)
400g fsh fllets, such as monkfsh, John Dory, barramundi, gurnard or sea bass, cut into 3-4cm chunks
12 large raw prawns (about 450g), peeled and de-veined
freshly ground white pepper
1 tbsp lime juice, plus extra to serve
1 x quantity Basa gede (Indonesian spice paste) – recipe overleaf
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 kaffr lime leaves, torn into small pieces
2 fat lemongrass stalks, halved and bruised
120ml chicken stock
250ml coconut milk
1 Cut the whole squid open, reserving the tentacles. Score the skin lightly with the tip of a sharp knife and cut into flat pieces (about 4cm squares). Put the fsh, squid (including tentacles) and prawns in a shallow bowl and sprinkle with 1 tsp salt, some white pepper and the lime juice. Mix together well. Add half the spice paste and rub it well all over the pieces of seafood.
2 Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining spice paste and fry gently for 2–3 mins until it starts to smell fragrant. Add the lime leaves, lemongrass and stock, and simmer for 1 min. Add the pieces of fsh (not the squid or prawns) to the pan, leave to cook for 1 min, then turn them over and cook for a 1 min more. Add the coconut milk to the pan together with the squid and prawns, and simmer for 2 mins. Season to taste with a little more salt and lime juice, then serve.
PER SERVING 447 kcals • fat 25g • saturates 11g • carbs 6g • sugars 3g • fbre 1g • protein 49g • salt 2.3g