Cakalang Pampis - Manadonese Skipjack Tuna Floss

Cakalang Pampis or Tuna Floss ala Manado can accompany with warm cooked rice or as a filling for panada. Panada is very closed to Spanish or Portuguese empanada or Jamaican patty. While in the west part of Indonesia, pastel is more popular.  Pastel has a flakier skin like Malaysian curry puff and Makassar (South Sulawesi) jalakote.

Yesterday, there was a happy news that I received from Eleanor Hoh of Wok Star through twitter. Indonesia Eats got into the 50 Sizzling Hot Asian Cooking Blogs along with my Indonesian fellow, IndoChine Kitchen. Congratulation also to other Asian bloggers.

Ok, Pepy! Seriously, back on your track!

Speaking about cakalang pampis, there are some different recipes of it. I myself like the Yasa Boga version.  I used a whole cakalang and broiled it before shredding the meat.  Check my two previous post to know how I broiled the tuna. Before you jump to the recipe, I'd like to remind you that I have an Indonesia Eats Cook-Up and the submission will draw for a $70 CSN gift certificate.

Cakalang Pampis
- Manadonese Skipjack Tuna Floss -

Ingredients:
� 200 g broiled cakalang meat (You can substitute for canned tuna in water and drain)
� 1 pandan leaf, finely sliced
� 3 kaffir lime leaves, discard the midrib and slice finely
� 30 lemon basil leaves, coarsely sliced
� 1 daun tebal/bangun-bangun/Cuban oregano/Coleus amboinicus Lour, finely sliced (Since this herb has an oregano-like flavour, I substituted for 1 tbsp dry oregano)
� 2 lemongrass, take the white parts and crushed (I used 1/3 cup frozen minced lemongrass)
� 250 mL thick coconut milk (I used a combination creamed coconut and coconut water)*

Ground Spices:
� 4 long red cayenne peppers
� bird eye chilies (I don't put the amount as some people have different palette to handle heat. If you want to skip it, it's your call)
� 3 cm long ginger, scrape off the skin with a spoon
� 5 shallots (I used 3 of the bigger size shallots)
� 2 cloves garlics
� � teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. In a pot, combine coconut cream and coconut water; bring to a boil.

2. Add ground spices and reboil until bubbling.  Add cakalang, pandan, oregano and kaffir lime leaves. Let them cook for 10 minutes. Add lemongrass and lemon basil. Stir and cook until everything is dry. Leave to cool if you want to use them for panada. Scoop over the warm cooked rice if you want to enjoy with rice.

Asians also love to enjoy floss with the bread.

Cook's Note:
* Creamed coconut can be found at Asian or Caribbean markets as the one that I used is made in Sri Lanka.
* Choose canned of coconut water that is pure, no sugar added.
* No lemon basil in your fridge, don't bother just leave them out.