Cucumber-Pineapple Sambal

Hardware

Ingredients

2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, cut into very small cubes
1 med pineapple, skinned, cored, cut into very small cubes
½ cup lemon juice
2 Tblsp soy sauce
2 Tblsp molasses
2 Tblsp minced fresh ginger
1 - 2 red chiles, minced (any kind)
freshly cracked white pepper

Procedure

  1. Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Notes

The original recipe called for rice wine vinegar, but I don't like vinegar; lemon juice works just as well. It also called for salt, but I think it's plenty salty from just the soy sauce.

I like using serrano peppers -- they give it a healthy kick.

I suspect you could use half garlic and half ginger (or even garlic instead of ginger).

As the recipe stands, it comes out much soupier than I think is right. Straining off most of the juice seems to work, but you lose some of the taste from the soy sauce and lemon juice. Maybe using a pineapple that's just barely ripe would be better; also, substituting other ingredients for the soy sauce, lemon juice, and molasses might work. I'd suggest nam pla and either tamarind paste or plain sugar; I'm not sure what to use in place of the lemon juice.

This goes particularly well with grilled or broiled fish, especially ones with a strong flavor (like sword fish or blue fish).

Rating

Difficulty: Very easy.

Time: 20 - 30 minutes.

Precision: 1.

Source

Adapted from Salsas, Sambals, Chutneys & Chowchows, by Chris Schlesinger & John Willoughby.

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