Sauteed Pork in Tamarind Sauce
(Babi Assam) Singapore)

2 tablespoons oil
4 candlenuts or macadamia nuts, ground
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
2 shallots, minced
2 tablespoons preserved, salted soya beans, pounded
1 1/4 pounds pork belly, cut into thick strips, lightly sauteed and drained, or substitute thick-cut bacon
1 cup tamarind sauce
8 fresh green serrano or jalapeņo chiles, seeds and stems removed and sliced thinly
6 fresh red serrano or jalapeņo chiles, seeds and stems removed and sliced thinly
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons sugar

Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet, add the candlenuts, shrimp paste, and the shallots and saute until the mixture is light brown. Sit in the soya bean paste and stir over a low heat for 1 minutes.

Add the pork, tamarind sauce, the chiles, 1/2 cup of the chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover half of the wok, and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes, stirring once. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little more stock. Taste the mixture, and if it seems too tart, sprinkle in more of the sugar and simmer a few more minutes.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings