Tofu Sambal
From: Usha Kesavan -: Wellington, New Zealand

Sambal dishes are 'must have' and popular amongst the Malaysians & Indonesians.

My husband is a vegetarian and we have tofu almost everyday. Seafood is usually the main ingredients for sambal (eg anchovies, prawn, fish). Usually sambal dishes have dried shrimp so if you usually get the bottled sambal from your supermarkets, do check the ingredients first. Or else, this is a simple recipe that you can try.

• 150gm tofu (fried ones)
• ½ Onion (optional)
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 4-5 shallots
• 1 ripe tomato
• Blended chilli (depending how hot you want it to be)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or to taste)
• Sugar (to taste)

If using onion, cut into rings. Blend garlic & shallots (together). Heat some oil in the pan/wok, add onion and the blended items. Stir fry for about 2-3 minutes or till the aroma rises. Add the blended chilli in. Give it a stir, blending all ingredients. Wait for a couple of minutes before adding the mashed tomato into the pan. Give a good mix & let the chilli and tomato cook.

Add soy sauce & sugar, again mix well. Finally put in tofu. Stir fry till tofu is coated with all ingredients. If you rather have the tofu soft, I suggest you put the lid on for 1-2 minutes. Ready to serve with white rice or fried rice.