Recommendations
Spicy fish balls with Notaris Jonge Graanjenever
On the dish are fried cod balls, kneaded with a stewed paste of shallot, red chilli, ginger, turmeric and lemongrass, with sweet chilli sauce alongside. Opposite stands a young artisanal grain genever, cold and clear, which cools the heat of the chilli without adding sweetness.
From the shelf
The bottle
Notaris Jonge Graanjenever is a young craft graanjenever of 35% ABV in a 70 cl bottle. The bottle comes from the Netherlands; nothing is established about the distillery or the malt wine share that we have been able to verify, and we therefore name only what is certain. By law, the designation graanjenever requires all alcohol to come from grain and at least 30% ABV; for young jenever, in addition, at least 35% ABV and at least 1.5% alcohol from malt wine, with in practice at most 15% malt wine.
The combination
Why this works together
These fish balls are mild at the base and sharp on the outside: the cod is sweet and soft, but the paste of red chilli, ginger and turmeric puts a heat and an earthy bitterness beside it, and the sweet chilli sauce lays more sugar over it. With that combination, sweet is the last thing you want in the glass. A korenwijn or old jenever brings exactly that with its malt wine and would double the chilli sauce. A young graanjenever is dry and almost neutral: it cools the chilli heat, and its juniper and resinous bitterness link up with the ginger and the turmeric rather than with the sugar. The cold alcohol also carries away the frying fat of the balls. That way every next ball tastes as sharp as the first.
At the table
The dish
- For 4 people
- Ready in 30 minutes
- Type drinks snack
What you need
- 2 shallots
- 1 red chilli
- 15 g fresh ginger
- 15 g fresh turmeric
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 8 tablespoons sunflower oil
- 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
- 250 g fresh cod fillet
- 2 tablespoons cornflour
- half a teaspoon of salt
- 4 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
How to make it
- Roughly chop the shallots, the red chilli and the unpeeled ginger and turmeric. Remove the hard outer leaves of the lemongrass and cut the stalk very finely.
- Put the shallot, pepper, ginger, turmeric, lemongrass, garlic, ground coriander and a quarter of the oil in the food processor and blend to a fine paste.
- Heat an eighth of the oil in a pan and fry the paste for 5 to 8 minutes over medium heat, stirring regularly. Add the desiccated coconut for the last 3 minutes and let everything cool for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Cut the cod into 2 cm cubes. Grind half finely in the food processor and take it out; grind the other half coarsely.
- Knead the paste, all the fish, the cornflour, pepper and salt into a firm, sticky mixture and shape 14 balls from it with wet hands.
- Heat the rest of the oil over high heat in a non-stick pan and fry the balls for 6 minutes, turning occasionally.
- Serve with the sweet chilli sauce.
In the glass
Serving
Pour this young grain genever ice cold from the freezer into a small tulip glass or shot glass, filled to the brim. With spicy food the cold does the work: the genever puts out the heat of the red pepper and sets nothing sweet against it. At room temperature the alcohol starts to work together with the pepper and the drink becomes warmer than you want. Put the bottle back in the cooler between rounds.
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