Recipe : Famous Keumamah ( Acehnese Gulaie Keumamah )
Two words best characterize Acehnese cuisine:spicy and heavy. If there was a single dish that best exemplifies them, it would be keumamah, also known as gulaie keumamah or eungkot kayee. The fare is made from mackerel tuna that was first boiled and then smoked and cooked in coconut oil.
The name eungkot kayee, which means wooden fish, is derived from the literal observation that dried fish bears an uncanny resemblance with a piece of wood. It's similar to what the Japanese call katsuobushi, dried fish that serves as one of the main ingredients of the dashi broth in Japanese cuisine, used to make soups and sauces. Now lets make your own Keumamah.
Main Ingredients :
- 500 grams dried skipjack tuna (ikan kayu/eungkot kayee)
- 100 grams potatoes
- 100 grams long beans
Spice Paste :
- 50 grams asam sunti (sundried bilimbi)
- 25 grams red chilies
- 25 grams green chilies
- 25 grams chili padi (bird's eye chilies)
- 50 grams shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 little finger-sized piece turmeric
- Salt to taste
- 5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 stem curry leaves
- 200 ml coconut oil
How To Make :
- Cut the dried fish into thin slices, soakin hot water to soften
- Using mortar and pestle, grind all the spices except for green chilies, kaffir lime leaves and curry leaves
- Heat a little cooking oil in a wok and saute the spice paste until fragrant and cooked through
- Add coconut oil, then slices off the dried fish. Add the potatoes, long beans and green chilies. Add water if necessary. Bring to a boil
- To make it less greasy, use only one tablespoon of coconut oil to saute the ground spices and add water. Serve with warm steamed rice.
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