Small Fridge? Recipes For Shelf Stable Goods: 1. Ikan Bilis

One of the limitations of low income survival, particularly life on the road, is limited refrigeration space. Even with ample space for a large fridge, it's not exactly cost effective to run one. We definitely need to concentrate our diets on good fresh produce, but there are a number of shelf stable goods that offer good nutritional value and even better value for money.

97.5% pure coconut milk

Dry goods provide endless opportunities, as do semi-perishable fresh vegetables. Our "gourmet media" tends to demonise tinned goods, but some very good things come in tins. Canning is the ultimate form of preservation. In simple terms, preservation is about keeping oxygen and water away from foods in order to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Methods include sugar curing, salt curing, pickling, preservation in oils and even air drying. When it comes down to it, there's no better way to keep oxygen and water away from foods than in a tin. The French, whose Gallic arses we Australians blow copious amounts of sunshine up for their culinary excellence, love a tin. Visitors to provincial Auberges are often surprised by their passion for tinned peas. I generally can't bare them, but the French seem to think they're OK. Peas aside, there are many good foods to be found in tins. There's a lot of talk about BPA or Bisphenol A being used in can linings. That's supposed to be not very good for you. I don't know a great deal about that other than it's one of those subjects that there's a lot of online contradiction about. Plenty of natural health advocates claim that it's the work of the devil and plenty of scientists claim that tests are inconclusive. I personally don't eat enough canned products to be concerned about it, but it's up to the individual to make their own choices. Not all can linings contain BPA. 

A lot of foods from tropical regions depend on preserved goods. Refrigeration is often not an option in some communities in developing nations. Bacteria growth can be rampant in the tropics, so preserved foods have evolved as a matter of safety with some delicious results.

Fish preserves well. Canning, drying, smoking, salting and drying are all very effective and produce a variety of Epicurean delights. One of the cheapest and most delicious of the dried fish products is Ikan Bilis, which is a dried anchovy from Malaysia. It's very easy to find throughout Australia. All Asian grocers stock it and it's now widely available at the major supermarkets for around $4 for a 100gm pack, which is enough to feed 4 people in rice or salad dishes. It's very strong and salty, so a little goes a long way.

Ikan Bilis; available at major supermarkets

Once a week we turn to a cheap and very simple Malaysian classic in the form of fired ikan bilis and peanuts with nasi lemak (coconut rice). The nasi lemak component is traditionally quite simple, often served with a variety of savoury accompaniments such as sambal ikan billis and some simple salads and relishes. I've hybridised the dish a little, just for simplicity. Instead of making a sambal (chili sauce) with the ikan bilis, I cook some of those flavours into the rice and keep the ikan bilis very simple; just fried until crispy with the peanuts and sprinkled onto the rice to serve.

Ikan bilis on rice

Coconut milk is an important part of this dish. That's a very interesting issue. About five years ago, I noticed that canned coconut milk products were much more readily available in supermarkets, but didn't taste a lot like coconut milk any more. I started reading the labels. Many supermarket brands were down to as little as 25% coconut milk, with the bulk of the contents consisting of guar gum. I found this to be utterly unsatisfactory. I'm not maligning such products from a nutritional perspective, but simply from the point of view that they're virtually flavourless. 

The most widely available coconut milk that exceeds 80% purity is Malaysian brand Ayam, which can be found in most major supermarkets. It's very good, but is also very expensive. The best brands are found at Asian grocery stores. They're often cheaper than the worst supermarket brands and can be 100% pure. Many such brands come in cartons as well as cans. The best brands to look out for are: Rasaku, Kara, Aroy-D and any others that boast over 90% purity. 

So here's my take on a Malaysian classic. This recipe uses all shelf stable and semi-perishables.

1 x 100gm pack of Ikan bilis
200gms of shelled raw peanuts
500gms of jasmine rice
4 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
4 teaspoons of tamarind puld, seeds removed
6 fresh chilies, chopped
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
500ml of chicken / fish stock or water
4 teaspoons of belecan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
300ml of coconut milk 
Peanut oil
Crispy Prawn Chili (optional)

Place a tablespoon of peanut oil in a frying pan and heat it until it starts to smoke. Put in the ikan bilis and peanuts and toss around for about 3 minutes. Turn it down to a very low flame and let it continue to cook for about 20 minutes, turning the mixture over every 3 minutes. The idea is to get the anchovies dry and crispy like little chips, but obviously not blackened.
Once the peanuts and Ikan bilis are done, set them aside. They will continue to crisp as they cool.

take a large cast iron casserole and heat on the stove top. pour in about 5 tablespoons of peanut oil, then fry the onion until soft. Add the shrimp paste and chili and fry for another couple of minutes before adding the rice, garlic and tamairind. Stir the rice until shiny and starting to turn translucent. 

Add the coconut milk to the rice and stir. It will only take a couple of minutes until it reduces. As soon as it does add stock or water to cover the rice. Once that starts to simmer, turn the flame down. Keep stirring the rice to prevent it sticking and add liquid as required, until the rice is fully cooked and most of the liquid absorbed. Once you're at that stage, turn the flame off.

Heaven in a jar

If you can source a product called Crispy Prawn Chili by Tean, this dish can be transformed from a very special treat into something quite sublime. A small jar costs around $4, but a few teaspoons stirred into the finished dish will really make it sing. You could also opt to stir through some sambal olek instead. That's easier to find. Whatever form the finished dish takes, simply sprinkle the ikan bilis and peanuts over the rice and serve. You might like to serve it with some simple garnishes such as chopped hard boiled egg or minced cucumber dressed with rice wine vinegar and sesame oil.

This dish serves 4 people for around $8.