Make & Store Own Blended Fresh Chilli Paste

This second round of CMCO that was re-enforced on us seems to be really taking a toll on many food businesses.  Many have mentioned to me that their businesses have been affected the most during this last CMCO as there are less people tapau-ing....and even lesser people dining in.  Well, the latter can be attributed to the stringent SOPs in place.  We hear stories of people being fined for all sorts of reasons (and some of these SOPs are vague and open to interpretation), so we certainly don't want to subject ourselves to that.  Plus, the high number of cases reported daily in the Klang Valley didn't help either.

Luckily, some of these SOPs have been relaxed even though the CMCO has been extended for a further two weeks (for certain states).  Hopefully, the relaxation of some of these SOPs will help spur the many food businesses that are struggling to survive now that there are even more competition for them with the government allowing Malaysians to open stalls selling anything and anywhere.  I was a little amused by one stall owner's reasoning for her drop in business though.  She said we've gone through so many MCOs already...CMCO, RMCO, EMCO, TEMCO-lah that people who can't cook have learned to cook....those who do cook have learned to cook better...and those who don't used to cook are cooking more (lol!), so no need to tapau food so often anymore.

Well, perhaps there are some half-truths in there....I'm also guilty of cooking more than usual.  Either that or the long, drawn out pandemic is finally hitting people's pockets...and cooking (or eating in) seems to be the cheapest (and safest) alternative right now.

I'm glad to report that I learned to make...and store my own blended fresh chilli paste during this CMCO.  Ok, ok, I first learned to make my own blended chilli paste (after watching Ili Sulaiman) but admit I do not make it often enough for a reason.

That's because I found it too troublesome to make just a portion of chilli paste.  First of all, it's difficult to buy (more like too embarrassed to buy) just a few chillies and secondly, it involves taking out the blender (meaning more washing afterwards).  Previously, I would follow a specific recipe for the chilli paste but these days I keep it simple with just fresh (red) chillies, onions and garlic. 

And now, thanks to my neighbour who taught me to freeze individual portions of chilli paste and defrost a portion for cooking whenever I need it, I make it more often.  Now why didn't I think of that...freezing the chilli paste, I mean. ^_~

Now I can make a bigger portion of chilli paste and freeze them in individual portions of 3 - 4 tablespoons each.  That way you can choose to defrost one or two portions depending on the serving size of the food you're planning to cook.  It keeps very well...frozen...for months, my neighbour said.  So far, I've kept it for anything between 4 - 8 weeks before they were all used up.

The chilli paste ingredients are also flexible (there's no hard and fast rule as to the exact amount to use).  You can follow the amount I use (see photo above) or go with your own recipe.  I like to use double the amount of shallots to garlic (shallots are always great in sambals) and I use fresh chillies instead of dried chillies or bird's eye chillies (for less heat).  It's really up to you to use more chillies (or cili api) if you prefer it spicier.

This chilli paste with just chillies, onions and garlic I'd keep for cooking proteins like prawns, chicken or fish. It's also good with fried rice and fried noodles.  My neighbour mentioned that she uses big onions as she's too lazy to peel the small onions.  I tried that once but found the chilli paste too wet as the big onions tend to leak out more water when blended.  I prefer to stick with shallots.

I'd add dried prawns to the chilli paste if I intend to use it for frying vegetables like kangkung, ladies finger, brinjal, long beans, sweet potato leaves, etc.  Of course when you think of these type of vegetables, you'd think of belacan.  You can certainly add some toasted belacan into the mix but I choose not to coz I don't like to stink up my house (I'd leave the cooking of kangkung belacan to the restaurants where I order it...hehe). Anyway, I think it's still good enough without the belacan...though some choose to omit it because they think it's unhealthy.

So, what do I (or can you) cook with this own-made blended fresh chilli paste, you ask?  Well, you start by sauteeing the blended chilli paste in oil until fragrant...or tumis sampai pecah minyak (fry till the oil separates) as they say (but you'll need to use a lot more oil if you want to do that).  Since I prefer to use less oil (for home cooking), it's difficult to see the oil separate but I saute it low and slow (and don't forget to season with salt) to get the paste as fragrant as possible.

I store my chilli pastes in individual portions in my little, colourful Tupperware containers (I finally put my small containers to good use) whereas my neighbour would just store them in small plastic bags.

This chilli paste (with added dried prawns), of course, goes very well with selected vegetables.  A very common one would be kangkung.  Although this one is without belacan, it's still good enough in my books.

Another favourite of mine is to cook it with brinjals...either with brinjals alone or with some added minced pork.  I recently discovered a quick (and easy) way to cook and soften brinjals, so I'll share that in a separate post soon.

I also use it to fry ladies finger.  This I would do only a small, single portion (for myself) since my family isn't a fan of okra.  The key to cooking okra to keep the slime at bay (I was told) is to not stir it too much (so, add a little water and cover your wok/pan to let it steam/cook through).

As for the chilli paste with just chillies, onions and garlic (minus the dried prawns), it goes great with fried rice especially if you want it with a bit of a spicy kick.....like this Shrimp Fried Rice that I cooked previously.

It's also good with Mamak Mee Goreng which I attempted earlier....or with any other fried noodles that you might want to whip up like fried meehoon.

Another dish I thought went very well with this chilli paste was when I used it to cook prawns.  I was inspired to replicate this when my neighbour sent me a photo of the prawn dish she cooked (will put out a separate post on this dish too).

Fry the chilli paste well and it can also be a very good topping for fried fish.  You can use just about any fish that you fancy like kau yue (Spanish mackerel/tenggiri papan) or sek pan (grouper/kerapu).  Ikan kembong (Indian mackerel) works too.  Remember to season your chilli paste with salt during the sauteeing of the paste (since there won't be a sauce of light soy with this recipe).

Now that I know I can freeze chilli pastes, I've cooked with it more often since I can make a bigger batch at one go, freeze it and just defrost the portion (or portions) I need to cook with.  This is especially great for those of us who can't go through a meal without having a bit of chilli and spice in our food.

Nowadays, if you open my freezer, you'll most likely find a couple of colourful containers of stored, frozen chilli pastes in there....hee...hee! ;)  Having ready-made, frozen chilli pastes is a great help to whip up a delicious dish for your family at a moment's notice since it has already been pre-prepared and left in the fridge to defrost.  This chilli paste is so versatile you can use it in many dishes.