Rica-rica is a sambal from Manado, North Sulawesi. The name translates to “chilli” in the local dialect and, to be expected, this spicy condiment has fiery intensity.
The spiciness is also attributed to the red ginger, distinctively coloured, local to Manado and smaller than your typical ginger.
For this recipe, I have reduced the number of bird’s eye chillies, but you can add as many as 20 if you’re feeling adventurous. You can also try this dish using prawns, chicken or fish fillets.
PORK SATAY WITH CHILLI, GINGER AND LIME RECIPE
Origin: Sulawesi
Preparation time: 10 minutes, plus 10 minutes marinating time
Cooking time: 15–20 minutes
Makes 12–14 skewers
For the rica-rica
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 banana shallots, coarsely chopped
2–3 red bird’s eye chillies
2 large red chillies
20g ginger, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp coconut oil or sunflower oil
Juice of 1 lime
Salt, to taste
For the satay
600g pork tenderloin, cut into 2cm cubes
½ tsp salt
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbsp coconut oil
To serve
Steamed rice
- Soak 14 long bamboo skewers in water for 1 hour.
- To make the rica-rica, combine all the ingredients, except the oil, lime and salt, in a blender and blend to a fine paste. Set aside.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the paste and saute for 6–7 minutes. Season with lime juice and salt and saute for another 2 minutes. Set aside.
- To make the satay, season the pork with salt, half of the rica-rica paste and the lime juice. Mix well and set aside to marinate for 10 minutes.
- Preheat a charcoal barbecue or a griddle (grill) pan over high heat. Thread 4 pieces of pork on to each skewer. Grill the pork for 5–6 minutes, brushing it with marinade and turning often, until cooked through. Transfer the skewers to a plate.
- Serve as-is or with the steamed rice, spiced vegetable stew and the remaining rica-rica.
Recipe extracted from The Indonesian Table by Petty Pandean-Elliott (Phaidon, $60), available now.
