PLECING KANGKUNG

A vegetarian dish from indonesia. The humble blanched Chinese broccoli gets a spicy Indonesian upgrade.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE COCONUT TOPPING

• 2 long red chilies, roughly chopped
• Pinch of salt
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1 palm sized piece of fresh coconut

FOR THE BROCCOLI

• 500 g Chinese broccoli (gai lan), washed, trimmed and cut into 5 cm lengths

FOR THE DRESSING

• 2-5 bird's eye chilies (depending on your heat tolerance)
• 1 kaffir lime leaf, torn
• ½ tsp shrimp paste or dried anchovies
• 6 cherry tomatoes, halved and deseeded 
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 lime, halved
• small handful of roasted peanuts

FOR GARNISHING

• 1 tbsp fried garlic
• 1 long red chilli finely sliced on the diagonal
• Cheeks of lime, to serve

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HOW TO MAKE

1. Roughly chop the long red chilies and bash them to a paste in a mortar and pestle with a pinch of salt and a teaspoon or so of coconut oil.
2. Grill the coconut over an open flame until charred. Set aside the chilli-coconut paste and the charred coconut until needed.
3. Combine the bird’s eye chillies, lime leaf, shrimp paste, and cherry tomatoes with brown sugar and salt in a mortar and pestle, and grind to a paste. Mix in the juice of half a lime. It should be hot, sweet, sour and salty. Add a little more salt, sugar or lime juice to balance this out. If necessary you can add a little bit of water to the mixture to make a dressing consistency.
4. Meanwhile, blanch the Gai Lan in boiling water for about 20 seconds. Once cooked, remove from the heat and plunge into iced water to stop the cooking process. Once cool remove and set aside.
5. Grate the charred coconut finely. Mix with the pounded chilli with coconut oil that has been set aside.
6. In a large mixing bowl, add the gai lan into a large mixing bowl, add the dressing from the mortar and pestle along with the peanuts and use your fingers or a pair of tongs to mix thoroughly.
7. Serve topped with the chilli coconut mixture, garnished with fried garlic, sliced red chilli, and cheeks of lime.