Bali Tahu - Fried Beancurd in Javanese Blazing Red Sauce

Ingredients :

GENERAL
INGREDIENTS
500 gm Bean curd, in bite sized cubes
1 lrg Garlic clove, chopped
1 tbl , water
1/2 tsp Salt
50 gm Onions, thin sliced
1 1/2 cup Oil

SAUCE INGREDIENTS
100 gm Red chiles, thickly sliced
100 gm Tomato, thickly sliced
50 gm Onion, thickly sliced
3 tbl Boiling water
1 piece ginger 1cm x 1/4cm
1/2 cup Coconut cream
1 stalk lemon grass 4cm long, flattened
2 tsp Sugar, raw or palm
1 tbl Oil
Salt, to taste

Method :

* Preparation of bean curds: Put the garlic & salt in a mortar, grind until smooth. Add hot water. Stir. Dip bean curd cubes one by one into this mixture. Heat 1 1/2 cups of oil in a wok, deep fry the ingredients over med. high heat. 1st the onion slices, then the bean curd cubes. Cubes should be cooked till yellow and not allowed to puff up. Fry one side then the other. Drain well. Place chilies, tomato, onion, rest of garlic & ginger in a blender. Add boiling water. Blend till smooth. In a skillet heat 1 tbs. of oil, stir in blended sauce and add lemon grass. cook over med. heat for 5 mins. Stir occasionally. Now add in the coconut cream, sugar, and fried bean curd cubes. Cook for 5 mins. Salt to taste, remove from heat and remove lemon grass before serving. Place on serving platter and use the fried onions on top. Serve with veggies cooked in coconut cream and serve with steamed rice.
* NOTES :
6/94 " the classical Javanese sauce, Bali, is used to flavor many main ingredients... This sauce is probably as old as Javanese culture itself.*
* In fact the sauce is produced by simple flavorings, such as ripe chilies, and tomato which give the sauce its blazing red colour, then spiced with scented lemon grass and ginger; a small amount of coconut cream & sugar is added to give a delicate flavour to the dish." H. Zucchi, 1989
*(As chilies all originate from New World plants, this is the statement of someone simply proud of her heritage and not a scholar of foods. Javanese culture goes far back beyond the trading days of the 16&1700's)

From:http://fooddownunder.com