Sayur lodeh

I love lontong and suddenly had this urge for it. So began my online search for sayur lodeh and finally settled for one from myresipi.com. (Yes, ever since being away from home, I have to actually cook things that I want to eat unlike previously where I would just go and buy!) Sayur lodeh is usually eaten with nasi impit and the whole dish is called lontong. I was sceptical on how it will turn out with this being my first actual dish using santan (nasi lemak not counted), but as the dish was cooking and I got a whiff of this aromatic smell (think nyonya laksa), I knew that it will turn out right. *smiley* And after all this cooking, I now feel like trying some nyonya laksa and lemak udang nenas.

Here's the recipe for my version. It serves 5-6.

Finely blended: 8 dried chillies, ~6 medium sized shallots, 2 cloves garlic, 1 thumb-sized turmeric, 1" ginger, 1Tbsp dried prawns, 1Tbsp anchovies, a small square of belacan (shrimp paste), 1tsp grounded fennel seeds (not sure of the role of fennel seeds here. could it be for that extra sweet tinge?).

1 stalk lemongrass, half thumb-sized galangal
Prawns
Dried beancurd, cabbage, carrots, glass noodles, red chillies
200ml santan (coconut milk)
Water, salt, oil

1. Heat oil and stir-fry the blended paste together with the stalk of lemongrass till fragrant.
2. Add in the prawns and continue to stir-fry. Pour in the santan (plus another 200ml of water), galangal and cook till it boils.
3. Put in the vegetables starting with the hard ones and add in enough water.
4. Add in salt, and cook till it boils and the vegetables soften.
5. Ready to serve.