Master Chef Australia 2022 | Alvin's Babi Pongteh and Sambal Ikan Bilis Recipe

This weeks Master Chef Australia 2022 recipe we recreated is from the "rainy day" challenge. Alvin made a delicious braised pork recipe called Babi Pongteh with Sambal Ikan Bilis.

Ingredients (4 portions)

Babi Pongteh
60 g dried shiitake mushrooms
2 medium brown onions, peeled and roughly chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 Tbsp fermented soybeans (we used black beans)
1 Tbsp neutral flavoured oil
400 g pork belly, cut into 3-4 cm pieces
2 medium washed potatoes, cut into 4-5 cm chunks
2 Tbsp kecap manis, plus extra to taste

Sambal Ikan Bilis
2 Tbsp neutral flavoured oil
60 g ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
6 long red chillies
2 bird’s eye chillies
1 Tbsp belacan (shrimp paste)
juice 1 lime, plus extra to balance
1 tsp caster sugar, plus extra to balance

To taste
salt and sugar

To garnish
chopped chives

To serve
cooked rice

Method

  1. For the Babi Pongteh, soak mushrooms in warm water for 30 minutes, reserving the liquid. Meanwhile, place onions, garlic and soybeans into a food processor and process to a paste.

  2. Heat oil in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the paste and fry until fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Add pork and stir fry for 5 minutes, making sure pork is well coated in the paste.

  3. Add potatoes and softened mushrooms and stir fry until well coated in the paste. Add just enough reserved liquid from the mushrooms to cover the pork and bring to boil. Stir in kecap manis then reduce the heat to low and cover with a lid. Simmer until pork is tender, about 50 minutes. Stir through extra kecap manis and salt and sugar to taste.

  4. For the Sambal Ikan Bilis, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add ikan bilis and fry until golden and crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside. Process chillies and belacan in a food processor to a rough paste.

  5. Add remaining oil to the same frypan. Add the chilli paste and fry for 2 minutes. Add ikan bilis and cook for another 2 minutes. Balance with lime juice and sugar and cook for another 1 minute, adding a little more of each if required.

  6. To serve, place babi pongteh in a large bowl. Garnish with chopped chives. Serve with rice and sambal ikan bilis in a small bowl on the side.

  7. ENJOY!