Balinese salad (tipat cantok)

This recipe for tipat cantok comes from chef Wayang Kresena Yesa, shared with Lara Lee during her travels in Bali. Tipat cantok is a classic Balinese dish featuring rice cakes (tipat) mixed with blanched vegetables and a spicy peanut sauce made with a mortar and pestle.

Credit: Rob Gunn

• serves

  4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 150 g (½ cup) sea salt
• 150 g green cannonball cabbage, quartered
• 150 g snake beans
• 150 g bean sprouts
• 300 g lontong, sliced into medium-sized discs (see Note)
• Fried peanuts (kacang tanah goreng), fried shallots, grape tomatoes, fried tofu puffs, kerupuk udang (prawn crackers), to serve  

For the peanut sauce

• 80 g fried peanuts (kacang tanah goreng, see Note)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 6 tabasco chillies, thinly sliced
• 220 ml warm water
• 1 tbsp fried shallots
• 2 tsp kecap manis
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. To make the peanut sauce, in a mortar and pestle, crush the peanuts, garlic and chilli to a thick paste. Gradually add small amounts of warm water, until the mixture becomes creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and crush to your desired consistency. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking. Set aside until needed.
2. In a large stockpot, bring 3 litres of water to the boil with the salt over medium heat. Add the cabbage and snake beans and cook for 10 minutes. Prepare an ice bath. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables from the simmering water to the ice bath. Add the bean sprouts to the simmering water and cook for 5 minutes, then drain and transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Drain the cabbage and snake beans from the ice water, then add to the bowl with the bean sprouts. Add the sliced lontong to the bowl and pour over the peanut sauce, tossing liberally to combine. Taste and add more salt, lime juice or kecap manis, to your preferred taste. (Alternatively, you can plate the dish as chef Wayan does, placing the sauce in the base of the serving bowls, then adding the vegetable mix and lontong, followed by the condiments as outlined in step 3.)
4. Transfer the tipat cantok to a large serving bowl and sprinkle with the kacang goreng, fried shallots and grape tomatoes. Serve with fried tofu puffs and kerupuk udang (prawn crackers).

Note

• Lontong is a type of traditional Indonesian compressed rice cake which can be purchased at Indonesian grocery stores. The
• Indonesian fried nuts used for this recipe are also known as kacang mentik goreng.

Watch how to make this recipe on Episode 1 of Beyond Bali with Lara Lee.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.