Spicy Anchovies - Sambal Goreng Ikan Bilis (Malaysia)
Serves 2
                                                                                 
1 cup dried anchovies
1 cup unsalted peanuts
3 Tbsp basic chili paste*
1 lemon grass, crushed
1/8 teaspoon salt, optional
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp tamarind juice

Briefly rinse anchovies to remove excess salt; drain. Heat 2 cups
oil.  Separately, deep-fry anchovies and then peanuts for about 4
minutes each, until golden brown. Remove and drain; place on a plate
and let cool.  Heat 3 Tbsp oil; stir fry the basic chili paste and
lemon grass over low heat until fragrant; add the salt, sugar, and
tamarind juice and briefly stir. Turn off heat, add anchovies and
peanuts. Mix well, serve when cool. Good with rice or coconut rice,
or just eating as a snack out of bowl!


Notes: To make basic chili paste, puree together about 1/2 pound
red chili peppers (not dried) with about 1.5 ounces shallots and
1.5 ounces garlic.  You can take a shortcut by simply buying Sambal
Oelek (chili paste) already prepared in a bottle or jar, and pureeing
it with one shallot and one clove garlic for this recipe.

Tamarind juice is made by taking tamcon (tamarind concentrate sold
in Indian and Asian markets) and adding hot water and letting it
dissolve.  Try about 1 teaspoon tamcon per about 1 Tbsp boiling
water. You can also use the same quantity of lime juice if you canot
find tamcon or dried tamarind.

If the texture of the fish (which are tiny, but whole fish with
bones, etc.) bothers you, place entire mixture in the food processor
or a mortar and pestle, and barely process.