You know what's nice to belong in an awesome mummy group that helps each other and share their recipes? I am so happy to learn this recipe from the mummies in this SAHM group I joined in and decided to give this a try.
Now what you do is:
- Buy ikan bilis (aka anchovy) preferably those that are already cleaned and without heads and tail.
- Wash the ikan bilis to remove the excess salt and domoic acid (this is what I read from other website)
- Drain the ikan bilis and arrange them as a flat layer on a baking tray.
- Bake at 170C for about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Blend them into powder form.
- Store in airtight container and it's ready to use when you cook!
Btw, just to share my initial reactions when I tried the ikan bilis powder (I made noodle soup) - it had some burnt after taste and upon finishing my bowl of noodle, I found the remnants of the ikan bilis powder at the bottom of my bowl. After checking with the mummies in my SAHM group, I was informed these observations are normal.
Burnt after taste might be due to over baking - so I need to either reduce the temperature or cut down the baking time. As for the remnants (also known as 'jah' in Cantonese) this are perfectly normal as the ikan bilis powder is not water soluble so it is alright to have remnants left. And now I ponder why the ikan bilis stock powder that we bought from the supermarket is easily dissolve in water... hmmmm...
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you give this a try too!
