Sambal Roa: Manadonese Smoked Fish Sambal

Ingredients

• 200 g smoked roa (smoked garfish / needlefish), smoked over coconut-husk charcoal until dry; shredded, bones removed
• 150 g red chillies, pounded
• 80 g shallots, pounded
• 4 cloves garlic, pounded
• 100 g tomato, pounded
• 60 ml neutral cooking oil

Method

1. 1
   Smoke the roa over coconut-husk charcoal until the fish is thoroughly dry and intensely flavoured. When the flesh yields no moisture and the exterior is deeply coloured, it is ready. Shred the flesh by hand and pick out all bones.
2. 2
   Pound the red chillies, shallots, garlic, and tomato — separately or together — in a stone mortar until a coarse, cohesive paste forms. The paste should still carry visible texture rather than becoming a smooth purée.
3. 3
   Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the pounded paste and fry, stirring continuously. This is where the dish lives or dies: the paste must fry long enough for the raw shallot and garlic to sweeten and the tomato moisture to fully evaporate, yet not so long that the chilli scorches — the oil will begin to pool at the edges and the colour will deepen to a brick red when the moment is reached.
4. 4
   Add the shredded smoked roa and fold it through the fried paste. Continue to fry briefly until the fish is fully integrated and the mixture is cohesive, fragrant with smoke and chilli, and slicked with oil.