Slick and sumptuous: Jet-black squid ink pasta with garlic ‘sambal’ prawns
KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 – Some days we need a little more colour in our lives. More flavours, more textures. More fervour, more passion.
Then there are those days when the monochrome is far from monotonous.
Paint it black, why don’t you? What could be more sensual and decadent on our tongues, whetting our appetites for the evening ahead?
I consider this as I eschew the usual corn yellows of conventional pasta for something a little more risqué.
Dark as midnight: squid ink pasta.
Jet-black and as dark as midnight. Sinisterly spicy (but we can handle the heat, we tell ourselves) and subtly aromatic. The ebb and flow, the lusty brine of the oceans.
I present to you a plate of squid ink pasta with garlic sambal prawns.
Why would this even work, you ask?
The squid ink pasta hints at a seafood theme, of course. (Some versions are fortified with charcoal powder to amplify its ebony shade and tone down any brackish taste.)
The use of prawns complement the squid ink pasta for a seafood theme.
So complementing it with fresh prawns is as natural as the rise and the fall of the tides, the waxing and waning of the moon. One goes with the other.
To bring it altogether, we use plenty of garlic here for a punchy, pungent dish. Some might caution judicious application but I am with my Italian mates on this: you can never have too much garlic.
Use plenty of garlic for a punchy, pungent dish.
Be a hedonist; please, go overboard.
Slick, slippery and sumptuous - what more could we ask for in a meal, really?
When the sun sets, when the night falls, when all the colours of the rainbow have been robbed, we can still have this dish: sybaritic and unapologetic, every strand like a beast in heat, every drop of the voluptuous sauce lingering on our lips like a shameless stain.
SQUID INK PASTA WITH GARLIC SAMBAL PRAWNS
Make your own sambal for maximum flavour. It’s easy when you can raid the pantry and make full use of your best friend in the kitchen: the food processor.
Make your own ‘sambal’ for maximum flavour.
Prepare it ahead of time, allow it to cool down, seal in an airtight container and keep in your fridge till you need it. (Which might be this weekend, if I have enticed you sufficiently.)
Let me repeat myself: There is no such thing as too much garlic. Feel free to double or triple the amount of garlic in this recipe. Go ahead; you have my full permission.
Typically I like adding garlic at the beginning of the sautéing process but here I save it for later as I want the sambal to really have a chance to bloom and release all its flavours.
Instead, a counterintuitive approach is helpful here. Adding the sliced garlic together with the prawns means the garlic doesn’t have time to brown or, worse, burn. Rather, it softens gently and retains a fresh, pale yellow hue.
Ingredients for the sambal:
4 small red onions or shallots
16 large fresh chillies
16 dried chillies
4 cloves garlic
1 small nub of ginger
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil
Ingredients for the pasta:
100g squid ink pasta
Olive oil
2 tablespoons of sambal (see above)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8-10 medium-sized prawns
Method
Combine all the ingredients for the sambal in a food processor and mix until smooth.
Heat the cooking oil in a pan. Add sambal ingredients and fry for a few minutes till fragrant and darkened in colour.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool. The cooled sambal can be kept in the fridge for a week.
Put a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the squid ink pasta according to package instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, heat a non-stick pan. Heat up some olive oil, just enough to thinly coat the pan. Once hot, add two tablespoons of sambal and sauté until fragrant.
Slick, slippery and sumptuous.
Add the prawns and sliced garlic. Stir briskly with the sambal to combine well. Remove from heat once prawns are cooked. Toss the cooked pasta in this garlic sambal prawn sauce. Serve immediately.
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