Indonesian Bumbu Kacang with Fried Peanuts and Tamarind

What you need

• 200 g (1 1/4 cups) raw peanuts, skinned or skin-on
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 shallots, peeled and halved
• 3 red bird's eye chillies, or to taste
• 1 tbsp palm sugar, grated, or dark brown sugar
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 300 ml (1 1/4 cups) water, hot
• 2 tbsp kecap manis, sweet soy sauce

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat.

2. 2

   Add the peanuts and fry, stirring all the time, until evenly deep golden, 5-7 min. Watch closely at the end, as they burn fast.

3. 3

   Lift the peanuts onto a plate lined with paper towel and let them cool for 10 min. Leave about 1 tbsp of oil in the pan.

4. 4

   Fry the garlic, shallots and chillies in that oil over medium heat until soft and lightly coloured, 2-3 min.

5. 5

   Grind the cooled peanuts in a food processor or a large mortar until they look like coarse sand.

6. 6

   Add the fried garlic, shallots and chillies with the palm sugar, tamarind and salt, and grind again to a thick, rough paste.

7. 7

   Scrape the paste into a small saucepan and stir in 250 ml of the hot water.

8. 8

   Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring often so the bottom does not catch, until the sauce thickens and a little oil shows at the edges, 5-8 min.

9. 9

   Stir in the kecap manis and cook 1 min more.

10. 10

    Taste and balance it: more salt for depth, sugar for sweetness, tamarind for sourness.

11. 11

    Thin with the remaining water a splash at a time. Leave it thick for dipping satay, looser for pouring.

12. 12

    Serve warm or at room temperature. It keeps 5 days in the fridge and thickens as it sits, so loosen it with a little hot water.

Imported from avirtualvegan.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.