Fried Carp with Crispy Kremes Coating, Shrimp Paste-Pete Chili Sambal — A Lunch That Keeps You Coming Back

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• 2 whole fish fresh carp, cleaned and belly slit open, scored along the body
• 2 limes
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 500 ml cooking oil for frying the fish
• 2 pods (clusters) pete (stink beans), peeled and split in half
• 10 curly red chilies
• 8 red bird's eye chilies
• 8 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 red tomatoes, chopped
• 1 tsp roasted shrimp paste (terasi)
• 1 tsp palm sugar, finely shaved
• 1/2 tsp salt for the sambal
• 4 tbsp cooking oil for sautéing the sambal
• 4 servings warm steamed rice
• 1 handful fresh Thai basil leaves

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1 Rub the cleaned and scored carp with lime juice, turmeric powder, and salt. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes so the seasoning soaks in and the fishy smell disappears.
2. 2 Heat 500 ml of cooking oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it's really hot (test by dipping a wooden chopstick in — if bubbles form around it, the oil is ready).
3. 3 Fry the carp one at a time for 6-8 minutes per side until the skin turns golden brown and feels crispy to the touch, then remove and drain on a wire rack.
4. 4 Quickly fry the split pete in the leftover fish-frying oil for 1-2 minutes until slightly wilted and fragrant, then remove and drain.
5. 5 Blend or grind the curly red chilies, bird's eye chilies, shallots, garlic, and roasted shrimp paste using a blender or mortar and pestle into a coarse paste.
6. 6 Heat 4 tbsp of cooking oil in a skillet, sauté the ground spice paste over medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring, until cooked through and fragrant, with the oil starting to separate at the edges.
7. 7 Add the chopped tomatoes to the sautéed sambal, cook while pressing them down for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes break down and the flavors meld.
8. 8 Add the shaved palm sugar and salt, stir well and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the sambal thickens and the sweet-savory-spicy flavors are balanced. Adjust the seasoning if needed.
9. 9 Add the fried pete into the sambal, stir well and cook briefly for 1-2 minutes so the pete is perfectly coated in sambal.
10. 10 Serve the fried carp on a serving plate with warm steamed rice, spoon or place the pete sambal alongside it, and finish with fresh Thai basil leaves as a garnish.

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📊 Nutrition Facts / serving

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