Spicy Sardine Sandwiches - Happy Birthday, Indonesia!

Something loosely red and white to celebrate Indonesia's independence day.


This spicy sardine dish is something I always had back home in Indonesia. I always had it with lotsa rice, but thanks to Tigerfish, I am inspired to make the sardine dish a topping for sandwiches. Perfect for a light dinner.

Oh wait, considering the number of sandwiches I gobbled up...it probably shouldn't have been considered a light dinner after all. ^_^'

Recipe
- 1 can of sardines in tomato sauce
- 2 shallot or half an onion, thinly sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- salt, sugar, cooking oil
- chopped spring onion and crispy shallot for garnish
- slices of your favorite bread (toast with butter if you wish)
- cheese slices (optional)

Saute garlic and shallot in hot oil, add sardines, balance flavors with salt and sugar, set aside. Butter and toast your bread slices if you want. Arrange them onto a plate. Top with slices of cheese (if using). Half and cut sardines to suit the size and shape of your bread, place generous serving of sardines on the bread, top with the sauce, garnish with chopped spring onion and crispy shallot....

...and merdeka!

Happy birthday, Indonesia!

Spicy Sardines with Tomatoes and Zucchini

My love for canned food and anything lazy-ass-friendly is no secret.
But this spicy sardine dish is something that's rather far from lazy. It's doing a lazy dish the un-lazy way, as it involves a bit more than opening a can of sardines and reheating it in a microwave, which would've been nice too, but we wanna bring canned sardines to another level ;)

It's a dish that's always served back home in Indonesia when I was growing up...minus the zucchini. I simply added the zucchini as I want it to be a one-dish-dinner (as always).

It takes more than opening a can of sardines, but it is by no means difficult (you know me and my limited skills ^_*)

Recipe
- 1 large can of sardines in tomato sauce
- 1 zucchini, cleaned and sliced to 5mm thick slices
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 onion, sliced thinly
- 1 red chilli, sliced thinly (or more depends on how spicy you want it to be)
- 2 tomatoes, cut into 8 sections
- olive oil, salt, pepper, kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce), light soy sauce, fish sauce, hot water, crispy shallot (for garnish)

Saute 1 clove of garlic in hot olive oil, add zucchini pieces, season with salt, pepper and a touch of fish sauce, let cook (add a bit of hot water if necessary), set aside. Saute the other clove of garlic, onion and chilli in hot olive oil until fragrant, add sardines including the juice, let cook for a while, season with fish sauce, light soy, kecap manis, and pepper. Add hot water if you want more "sauce", pour over zucchini, garnish with crispy shallot and serve with steamed rice.

Quick, easy, tasty, although not too lazy :)