TAMBAN / SALT WATER SARDINE

Corn sauce/purée:

Malunggay/moringa oil

Dried malunggay/moringa leaves

Powdered tomato

Tamban / Salt water sardine

1 young corncob, cut into pieces 1cm x 1cm

1 sweet corncob, kernels only

Sichuan flower (Acmella oleracea)

Corn sauce/purée:

8 sweet corncobs

6 white corncobs (sticky Philippine Lagkitan corn)

150 gr red miso paste

300 ml kombu dashi

Malunggay/moringa oil:

200 gr Malunggay/Moringa leaves

300 ml aceite vegetal

Dried malunggay/moringa leaves:

100 gr young malunggay/moringa leaves

Garlic oil

Powdered tomato:

5 kg ripe tomatoes

400 gr Sichuan pepper seeds

Tamban / Salt water sardine:

3 per person (approx. 2 cms per fish) of salt water sardine

Flour

Vegetable oil

Corn starch

Chopsticks

Corn sauce: Steam the sweet and the white corn at 99ºC for 5 minutes. Remove the kernels from the cobs and toast with a blowtorch. Mix the toasted grains with the miso paste and half the kombu dashi in a robot. Add the remaining kombu dashi to obtain a slightly thick sauce/purée. Push through a fine strainer. Add salt to taste. 

Malunggay/moringa oil: Remove the malunggay/moringa leaves from the stems. Mix the leaves and oil at 60ºC for 5 minutes. Strain through a very fine strainer. The oil should contain no residue or lumps.

Dried malunggay/moringa leaves: Choose 5 leaves from the top stems. Brush with garlic  oil, add salt and dehydrate at 50ºC for 24 hours. 

Powdered tomato: Seed the tomatoes, cut into quarters and place on a tray. Dehydrate at 60ºC for 48 hours. Crush the dried tomatoes to a powder, then pass though a very fine sieve. Mix the powdered tomato with powdered Sichuan pepper seeds.

Tamban / Salt water sardine: Stick a cocktail stick through each sardine from the tail to the gills, forming an ‘S’ shape (without perforating the gut). Sprinkle with salt, then coat with a mixture of 1 part wheat and 1 part corn flour. Deep fry at 150ºC until firm. Carefully remove the sticks, then deep fry at 180ºC until crisp. Season. 

Heat the corn sauce in a pan and serve, forming a circle on the dish and leaving a gap in the centre for the malunggay/moringa oil. In a very hot frying pan, toast the sweet corn kernels, blanch the pieces of young corn and season with salt. Serve the corn kernels on the corn sauce, add cherry tomatoes en brunoise. Place 3 pieces of fried tamban/salt water sardine on top of the corn grains. Sprinkle with powdered tomato until completely covered. Add the dried malungga/moringa leaves and decorate with Sichuan pepper.