Kupang Lontong

The main ingredient is kupang, the local term of small mollusk that can be found only from the coast at this region. Blend together with petis (shrimp paste, black in color. See picture below), fried garlic, liberal dose of lime juice and fresh chile, make this dish complex in taste.

Ingredients:
2 lb cooked frozen tiny clams, sold at asian market
1 package of instant ketupat (rice cake), prepare according to the cooking instructions, cube 1/2 inch in size
3 lime, for its juice
fresh thai chiles (cabai rawit)
petis udang (shrimp paste)
3 garlic, thin sliced, friend until golden brown
2 cups clam juice
5 cups water

3 shallot
2 garlic
2 candle nuts
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 inch galangal
1 inch ginger
3 lemon grass, bruised
salt and sugar to taste

Directions:
Grind shallot, garlic, candle nuts, coriander, and pepper until mixed. Saute in vegetable oil, add ginger, galangal, bruised lemon grass and kaffir lime leaves until fragrant. Add clam juice to the pan, mix well. Add water and cook until it boils, then reduce the heat to simmer. Add tiny clams and cook for additional 15 minutes. Add salt and sugar to taste.

To serve:
In a shallow bowl, mix 1 tbs of petis udang, 1 tbs fried garlic, 1 thai chile (cabai rawit. Add more if you like), salt and sugar. Add lime juice liberally.
Put cubed lontong and scoop of tiny clams on top of it, add liquid from the clam. Before you eat it, mix the liquid inside the bowl with petis mix on the bottom. Prepare wedges of limes on the side, and add more lime juice if needed.

Clam