Sadeko means tossed, and it is a method rather than a dish: anything can be sadeko, and in Nepal most things are at some point. Gundruk sadeko takes the same sun-dried fermented greens that go into the winter broth and does the opposite with them, frying them hard in hot oil so they turn brittle and smoky, then throwing them while still warm into raw onion, tomato, green chilli, lemon and mustard oil. Roasted black soybeans go in for crunch. It arrives on the table at Dashain, on a khaja tray in the afternoon, and at any roadside bhatti in Kathmandu, where it is what you eat while you are deciding what to eat. The same jar of gundruk gives a household a sour soup in the cold months and a sharp fried snack the rest of the year, which is the whole argument for preserving anything.
INGREDIENTS
- 50 g dried gundruk
- 100 g dried black soybeans (soaked overnight)
- 4 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 red onion (finely chopped)
- 2 medium tomatoes (finely chopped)
- 3 green chillies (finely sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 cm ginger (minced)
- 1 tsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
- ½ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- juice of 1 lemon
- a large handful of coriander (chopped)
METHOD
- Drain the soaked soybeans and dry them thoroughly on a cloth, or they will spit in the oil.
- Rinse the gundruk in cold water, squeeze it out hard and chop it roughly.
- Heat 3 tbsp of the mustard oil in a pan until it smokes, then take it off the heat for a moment to settle.
- Return to a medium heat and fry the soybeans for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring, until browned and crunchy. Lift them out with a slotted spoon.
- Add the gundruk to the same oil and fry for 30 to 40 seconds only, until it crisps and smells sharp. Do not look away. Tip it out at once.
- Put the warm gundruk and soybeans in a bowl with the onion, tomatoes, chillies, garlic, ginger, ground peppercorns, turmeric and salt.
- Add the lemon juice and the last tablespoon of mustard oil and toss everything together with your hands.
- Fold the coriander through and serve straight away, while the gundruk still has its crunch.