Creating a flavor base for a dish is a cooking technique found in every cuisine. In French cooking, there is mirepoix which consists of carrots, celery and onions sauteed in butter. In Spanish cooking, the flavor base is sofrito which is made by sauteing garlic, onion, tomatoes, peppers and paprika in olive oil. In the United States, Cajun and Creole dishes often start with the "holy trinity" of onions, celery and bell peppers.

In Malaysian cuisine, the flavor base consists of several spices that are ground to a paste before sauteeing. The paste is poured into hot oil and, over medium heat, cooked until the solids separate from the oil. At the point, the flavor base is deemed ready and the rest of the ingredients are added. 

This process of cooking the spice base takes both time and patience. When cooking vegetables such as mung bean sprouts, sauteeing the spice base takes a lot longer than cooking the sprouts. But the prolonged cooking is essential because it is the best way to coax the flavors from the spices and to allow the mixture to acquire a deep and rich color.

I urge you, therefore, not to take short cuts with the sauteeing stage. Mung bean sprouts are bland and you get nothing much but crunch and water. Without the rich spice base, this dish won't amount to much. So, don't begrudge the time spent allowing the spices to cook in oil slowly. Your patience will be paid off as they generously give off their best flavors, aromas and color.

See Also

Fried Spring Rolls With Mung Bean Sprouts

Sambal Kangkung With Shrimp Paste

Chinese Cabbage and Beans in Spicy Coconut Milk

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil
• 4 shallots or two red onions, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 2 knobs ginger, each about an inch cube, peeled and sliced
• 2 bird’s eye chilis
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• 3/4 cups fried cubed tofu
• sliced scallions, to garnish (optional)

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes

• Total Time: 22 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4

Preparation

1. Using a mortar or pestle (see Kitchen Essentials for Southeast Asian Cooking), blender or food processor, grind the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilis and fish sauce until pasty. If using a blender and the machine won’t run properly, add a few tablespoonfuls of water to help it along.
2. Heat the cooking oil in a wok or frying pan.
3. Over medium heat, saute the spice paste with occasional stirring until the color deepens and the paste separates from the oil, about ten minutes.

1. Taste the paste. Adjust the seasonings, if needed, adding more fish sauce or sugar, or both.
2. Turn up the heat to high. Add the mung bean sprouts and tofu. Stir fry just until heated through and the mung bean sprouts start to soften, about a minute.
3. A sprinkle of finely sliced scallions before serving adds color and even more flavor and texture to the dish.