Sambal Tauco (Sundanese style miso paste)

Fermented foods are a great source of probiotics because they contain live bacteria which support gut health for most people. The Indonesian cuisine I grew up on has many different types of fermented dishes, including tempeh (made from compressed soybeans) and many types of acar (pickled vegetables). But one of my favorite go-to dishes is steamed vegetables served with sambal tauco, a delicious dipping sauce made with miso — another fermented soybean product. Homemade sambal tauco is easy to make and so much more flavorful than what you can buy on the shelves of Asian markets. It can also used for barbequing fish or adding into stir fries. Enjoy making this exciting, savory sauce in your own kitchen.
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Key ingredients for sambal tauco

Ingredients:
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• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 fresh tomatoes, finely diced
• 2 sliced chili peppers (adjust spiciness to taste, preferably red  chili, can substitute with other chilies, as well as other forms of chilies, i.e., dried chili or chili paste)
• 4 T red miso, coarse texture
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, cut to 3-inch pieces and smashed
• 2 Asian bay leaves
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 T Indonesian sweet soy sauce (may substitute soy sauce with a with dash of molasses and brown sugar)
• 2 T cooking oil (canola is good to use)

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My favorite brand of red miso

Processing:
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1. Heat the cooking oil on medium heat and put in the shallots with the chili peppers to cook for about half a minute.
2. Next put in the tomatoes, lemongrass, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves. Mix well and cover to cook for two minutes.
3. Open the cover, put in the miso and soy sauce. Mix well, cover again and cook for another two minutes or until all the tomatoes blend well to form a paste.
4. Cool the paste before putting it in a jar to store in the refrigerator. (It should be good for a month or more if there is no surface contact with oxygen).

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Grrilled fish with sambal tauco, wrapped in banana leaf

Using the paste:
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• You can use sambal tauco to dip steamed vegetables (e.g., Chayote, carrots, green beans, cabbage, kale, and spinach) and raw vegetables (e.g., cucumber, Asian miniature eggplants, celery, and lettuce). Serve the steamed vegetables and sambal tauco with freshly cooked rice.
• You can smear sambal tauco generously over a fish (e.g. salmon, halibut, etc.) and wrap it in a banana leaf for barbecuing.
• You can also use the paste as the main ingredient to make any stir fry vegetables (vegan style) or you can mix it with tofu or another protein that you may wish to add to the vegetable dish.

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