Rarely found outside the Nonya home, this is an unusual dish in that it is one of the very few spicy dishes to feature sweet potato. A root vegetable associated with the region’s hungry postwar years, it has now gained respect as a good carbohydrate that also has a distinctive sweetness without being cloying. With the water spinach and rich, coconut milk-based sauce, it makes a very satisfying main course.
Ingredients: (Serves 4)
- 225 g/8 oz water spinach (kangkung)
- 150 g/5 oz sweet potato
- 45 ml/3 tablespoons vegetable or peanut (groundnut) oil
- 400 ml/14 fl oz coconut milk
- 5 ml/1 teaspoon salt
- 5 ml/1 teaspoon sugar
For the spice paste:
- 5 candlenuts
- 8 shallots
- 15 g/½ oz fresh turmeric, chopped
- 15 g/½ oz shrimp paste
- 15 ml/1 tablespoon dried shrimps, soaked until soft
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 5 red chilies, chopped
- Steam rice, to serve
Method:
Wash the water spinach well. Slice the stalks thinly and tear off the leaves in small bunches. Peel the sweet potato and cut into chunks, wash and dry.
Grind together all the ingredients for the spice paste. Heat the oil in a wok or heavy pan and fry the ground spices for 3 minutes, until fragrant.
Add the coconut milk, water spinach and the sweet potatoes. Then bring to the boil and add the salt and sugar.
Cook for 10-15 minutes until the sweet potato is soft. Water spinach cooks very quickly but is unique in that it never becomes mushy the long simmering. Serve with rice.