Spicy Potatoes (Kentang Balado)

The first of nasi uduk‘s many side dishes I am sharing is kentang balado – this spicy side dish is a perfect match for the fragrant and flavor-packed nasi uduk. My first-ever post on this blog was about terong balado, which is an eggplant dish made with the same spices as kentang balado. The balado originated from Minangkabau, West Sumatra, Indonesia and it is loved by people all over the country. The spicy and salty nature of the sauce makes it really versatile to use in Indonesian cooking – there are tons of variations you can add to this sauce, like tempe, eggs and fish to name a few.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 5 (together with nasi uduk + other side dishes)

Ingredients to make kentang balado:

2 medium-sized potato, cut into bite-size chunks

3 big shallots

2 cloves of garlic

Bird’s eye chili

1 fresh tomato, slice thinly

2 lime leaves (optional)

The juice of 1 lime (optional)

Salt and sugar to taste

Cooking oil

Steps to make kentang balado:

1. Fry your potato chunks in oil until soft and golden brown, just like how you do it when you make perkedel.
2. Blend shallots, garlics and bird’s eye chilies until smooth and stir fry them for a minute or two.
3. Add in a thinly-sliced tomato and lime leaves. Cook until the tomato is soft. Add some water when it is too dry (or going close to burning).
4. When the tomato is soft, mash it to make a thick sauce. Cook thoroughly until the texture resembles a regular tomato sauce.
5. Add in your fried potato. Coat every piece of potato with that spicy goodness. Remove the lime leaves and add some lime juice to it.

The potato is done and ready to be served! Easy, right? 🙂