SPICE PASTE for CHICKEN / Base be Siap (yellow in appearance)
Base – pronounced “bahseh’ is the basic seasonings usually used in various kinds of Balinese dishes. From this you can make a variety of curry, satay and other delicious dishes. They can be prepared in advance and stored in a refrigerator for up to a week. They can also be divided into smaller quantities and deep-frozen. If you are using a mortar and pestle, grind the dry spices such as pepper and coriander first, then add the hardest ingredients, the roots such as laos and kencur. When these are finely ground, add the shallots and chilies, then finally soft ingredients. If using a food processor, blend the dry spices first, then add all other ingredients, except the oil.
We provide you the simple recipe on how to make the Balinese authentic spice paste for chicken (Base Be Siap). Kindly check out the ingredients and step-by-step instructions for Chicken Satay recipe below!
Ingredients:
- 350g shallot, peeled and sliced
- 190g garlic, peeled and sliced
- 75g kencur (lesser galangal), washed and sliced
- 90g galangal (laos), peeled and sliced
- 25g candlenuts crushed (raw peanuts wiyhout skin)
- 190g turmeric, peeled and sliced
- 25g bird’s eye chilies, finely sliced
- 30g palm sugar, chopped
- 100ml coconut or vegetable oil
- 3 stalks lemon grass, bruised
- 4 salam leaves (optional dry or fresh kaffir lime leaves)
- 375ml water
- 1 tbsp salt
Preparation:
- Combine all ingredients except tamarind pulp, leaves and lemon grass, oil and water in food processor or stone mortar and grind into a very fine paste.
- Place ground ingredients into pressure cooker pot, add remaining ingredients. Bring ingredients to simmer.
- Pressure cook at a gauge pressure of 1 bar / 15 psi for 30 minutes. Start timing when full pressure is reached.
- Let the cooker cool for 20 minutes
- Cool in refrigerator over night
- Spread into ice cube tray and freezer
- Store in air tide container or freezer bag.
