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I had been wanting to make this dried anchovies powder for a long time, but didn’t get a chance to, until recently. My mom got this recipe from her friends and so I went ahead and gave it a try. Dried Anchovies or known as Ikan Teri in Indonesian Language or Ikan Bilis in Malay, are very popular ingredient widely use around the Asian kitchen. Deep-fried it to make Anchovies with chili sauce, or use it to make stock, or as toppings on different dishes, or in this case use it to make anchovies powder. The dried anchovies have strong taste due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, which are often used in European cooking, are much more milder and less salty.
Anchovies do come in variety of sizes and also available in fresh and dried forms. Some people also wonder if anchovies have any nutrition value. As you can see that anchovies mostly comes intact in one piece (head to tail), though there are also with head and tail removed already and bones are still intact. Anchovies with bones intact are a good source of calcium. Of course, I’m not recommending that you must eat anchovies in order to get your calcium. Caution also need to be taken with anchovies, because it does contain Domoic acid, which can accumulate in marine organisms such as shellfish, anchovies, and sardines that feed on the phytoplankton known to produce this toxin.
So, always wash your anchovies before you use it, especially if using the dried anchovies. It also helps to get rid of the saltiness.
Next question is, why makes it into a powder form ? My niece has been having her bowl of porridge with dried anchovies powder since she was an infant. Her nanny often prepare the home-made anchovies powder for her and store it in a little container and it lasts for a month at least. I had a taste of it and boy…I loved it too. A little sprinkle of the powder does go a long way. The dried anchovies powder does make a nice condiment on porridge, soup or any dishes you want to add it on for extra flavor.
DRIED ANCHOVIES POWDER ( About 3 oz)
3 handful of medium to large size dried anchovies (heads and tails removed)
COOKING METHOD:
OVEN METHOD:
1. Rinse the dried anchovies to reduce the saltiness and also the domoic acid. Pat them dry with absorbent paper towel
2. Preheat your oven to 350 F
3. Lay an aluminum foil on your baking sheet. Spread the dried anchovies on the lined baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes until they turn golden brown. Pull it out and stir it a little bit and bake again for another 5-10 minutes until they are all evenly brown. Set aside and let them cool
4. Pour it into a food processor or actually even better if you have a coffee grinder. I use the grinder because it produce a much finer powder. Wait a bit before for the powder to settle down before you open up the lid of food processor or grinder
5. Transfer to a container with tight lid and store in dry cool place. Not necessary to store in the fridge
STOVE-TOP METHOD:
1. Rinse the dried anchovies to reduce the saltiness and also the domoic acid. Pat them dry with absorbent paper towel
2. Preheat your wok or large pan without oil. Pour in the anchovies and stir fry it until they are dry and crisped up. I haven’t tried this method yet, but supposedly it will work if you don’t have access to an oven
3. Grinding and Storing method as mentioned above
Quick & easy to make and you can use it as condiment on your porridge, soup, to make a stock or anything you want 🙂
