Ever
classic, ever beloved, spicy sardine made with canned sardines is simply
irresistible. No dried chilli paste is needed, so you don’t have to pound or
blend even if using fresh chillies. For tanginess, there’s no need for tomatoes.
The sauce in the canned sardines works as it is.
The twist for this recipe is home-grown lemongrass, turmeric leaf, and bird’s eye chillies, which add fragrance, spiciness, and the health benefits of cooking with herbs. Known as sambal sardine for Malay cooking, or sarden sambal for Indonesian food, it’s called sarden balado when made with balado sauce (SPICY EGGS/TELUR BALADO).
Canned sardines are the always-handy in-case ingredient. No doubt there is at least one can at home, bought as part of the groceries. Sardine is an absolute pairing for a rice meal. For a Malaysian Indian meal, it is superb when paired with Indian Pepper Soup (INSTANT RASAM/INDIAN SOUP).
Add a simple stir-fried vegetable, like
sliced cabbage with turmeric powder and onion, and the spicy sardine sauce
becomes a delicious forever food.
Cooked simply and ready in minutes,
sardine sambal makes home cooking effortless. The YouTube video attached below
reflects the easy recipe in making a simple sardine dish at home.
1 canned sardine (with the sauce)
2 small lemongrass - bruised
2 small red onions - sliced
1 turmeric leaf - sliced
Some bird’s eye chillies
Salt to taste
Oil as needed
Add canned sardine with the sauce.
Stir while breaking the sardines.
Add salt, turmeric leaf, and chillies.
Stir and dish out.
