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Recipe: Papaya flowers with balixaun<br />
shrimp sauce<br />
Balixaun is a type of sauce made<br />
from small saltwater shrimp and<br />
salt locally produced in Manatuto.<br />
First the shrimp are washed, then<br />
pounded in a wooden mortar. The<br />
shrimp pulp is mixed with salt and<br />
left to pickle for a week or more<br />
until liquidised. It is then sieved and<br />
any remaining solids are pounded<br />
again and mixed back with the<br />
separated liquid. The balixaun<br />
is then ready to pour into clean<br />
bottles to be eaten immediately or<br />
stored for up to a year.<br />
People from Manatuto say there<br />
is a variety of ways to eat balixaun.<br />
It is delicious as a dressing for a<br />
salsa-like salad (budu matak) made<br />
with half-cooked tomatoes, chillies,<br />
salt, red onions and chunks of lime.<br />
It is also often mixed with bitter<br />
vegetables, such as stir-fried papaya<br />
leaves, unripe fruit or papaya<br />
flowers – like in this recipe.<br />
The women in Obrata say ‘the best<br />
friends’ of these balixaun dishes are<br />
boiled cassava and locally grown<br />
rice. They jokingly suggest this<br />
food is ‘soooo delicious you won’t<br />
stop eating even to greet your<br />
godmother if she visits’!<br />
Serves 4<br />
Ingredients<br />
2 piles (approx. 4 cups) papaya flowers<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
4 cloves garlic<br />
1 medium red onion<br />
4 chillies<br />
1½ tablespoons<br />
cooking oil<br />
2 tablespoons balixaun (shrimp<br />
sauce)<br />
Method<br />
1. Pick over the papaya flowers, separate<br />
flowers and buds from small stems and<br />
discard any large stalks. Sprinkle with<br />
salt and massage it thoroughly into the<br />
flowers. Rinse with water to remove salt.<br />
2. Peel/wash the garlic, onion and chillies.<br />
Crush the garlic and chillies. Finely chop<br />
the onion.<br />
3. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the garlic,<br />
onion and chillies, and lightly stir-fry<br />
until fragrant.<br />
4. Add the balixaun and stir until fragrant.<br />
5. Add the papaya flowers and stir-fry over<br />
a medium heat for 2–3 minutes.<br />
6. Add additional salt, if required.<br />
7. Dish onto a plate. Serve with rice for<br />
lunch or dinner.<br />
76<br />
Te’in ikan no hahán tasi iha Timor - <strong>Leste</strong>
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