Sambal Belachan Recipe
We caught up with four NYC chefs who recently visited Malaysia, detailing their favorite dishes.
From Matt Lambert: "Sambal belachan is something I experienced in all three cities – Penang, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur — with the southern style being thicker and hotter (a quality I enjoyed). In Melaka I was reduced to tears, literally, with a raw form of sambal. I had pounded out the ingredients by hand in a cooking class and missed a bird's eye chili, which I later ate in a salad. New levels of heat."
Sambal Belachan Recipe
Prep Time
15
minutes
Cook Time
5
minutes
Servings
15
ounces
Total time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 40 red chilies
- 12 scuds
- 10 tablespoons belachan
- 3 ounces lime juice
- 3 ounces tamarind liquid
- 12 large blue prawns
Directions
- Toast belachan.
- In vita prep blitz ¾ of the chili and the belachan.
- With the remaining ¼ pound in a mortar and pestle.
- In a wok with around 6 ounces of oil place chili paste and shrimp.
- When the mix becomes tight, add the lime juice tamarind water blend. Reduce until you have a thick coating of chili goodness!
- Best served with sweet fruit, depending on what’s in season, pineapple and mangos are great but most sweet stone fruit are also good. Fresh Coriander and cucumbers are also a prefect accompaniment.