Averrhoa Bilimbi

....or more commonly known as belimbing buluh.

Not many people like this fruit, but to those who love it, it is definitely most precious when one can get hold of it. Thank God for me, it's right there in Mom's garden so when it's in season, we can harvest basket loads of it. Mom's tree is not big, but when it bears fruit, there's an abundance of it!!

So, since I'd gone to Mom's last weekend, and thanks to Aina who was climbing the window grilles overlooking her garden (which was how we saw that the fruits were ready for picking!), she gave me about a large colander full of the fruit.

And so our dinner menu the last two days has incorporated the fruit into our dishes. Only the truly brave can eat this fruit raw, with a little salt. I've done it a few times, but it's not my most favourite thing to do, so I usually cook with it.

On Monday, I used the freshly sliced belimbing in my sambal belacan, and savoured its tangy freshness as is. Yesterday, I tried out a recipe known as Sambal Hitam Pahang. This is my first time attempting it. I'd heard of it, and was curious to try it.

daging goreng kunyit, pucuk keledek goreng pedas, sambal hitam & ikan pekasam goreng

Sambal Hitam

(my version ~ after numerous versions read in the internet)

you need:

a small bowl of belimbing, boiled in its own juices until dry
and browned, then pounded slightly

2 handfulls ikan bilis, washed and pounded slightly

pounded finely:

a handfull cili padi

5 small red onions

1 small clove garlic

2 - 3 Tbs kicap manis

salt, sugar ~ to taste

how to:

heat oil in a wok and fry the pounded ingredients till fragrant.
add in all other ingredients and cook until slightly dry. check seasoing;

ready to serve.

Laying in my fridge also is an abundance of ikan pekasam in a few version ~ from small little ones to good palm-sized ones. And so, with the belimbing available these few days, adding the pickled (?) fish to our dinner menu is only natural and inevitable :-D

Ikan Pekasam Goreng

you need:

1 large fish or 3 -4 small ones, washed and patted dry GENTLY

sliced red onions, quantity is up to you

sliced cili padi, quantity is up to you

a bit of oil for frying

a squeeze of lime

how to:

heat oil. i use a small amount since i was using the small fish. the fish will breakdown while frying so you basically have to dish it all up and serve it kind of like a mish-mash :-) anyway, place the fish in the hot oil and use a low heat. when you see the fish starting to crisp up on one side, turn it gently (as much as you can) and add in the red onions and cili padi. when the onions are soft, turn off heat and scoop the whole thing into your serving plate. squeeze lime juice over it and enjoy with a (large) plate of hot steaming rice.

On our recent grocery-shopping trip to Tesco, we also managed to get some sweet potato shoots. These are delicious in a simple spicy stir-fry dish.

Spicy Stir-Fried Sweet Potato Shoots

you need:

1 bunch sweet potato shoots (pumpkin shoots can be used too)

pounded coarsely:

2 - 3 red onions

1 clove garlic

3 - 4 fresh red chillies

salt, sugar to taste

how to:

heat oil and fry pounded ingredients till fragrant and slightly
dry. add in the shoots and cook until just wilted. check seasoning and serve
hot.

Hubby actually came home late last night but since he knew I'd prepared the dishes, he asked for his dinner even though it was already past 11.00pm. I obliged, but gave him only half portion of his usual serving since it was so late :-)

Anyway, tonight will be our last dinner incorporating the belimbing since I'd distributed almost half among my neighbours and friends. If I remember to snap pics, then there'll be another entry on that tomorrow :-)

Till then... Cheers!