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
No Ratings
Prep Time
15
minutes
Cook Time
5
minutes
Servings
15
ounces
Sambal Belachan Recipe
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
  1. Toast belachan.
  2. In vita prep blitz ¾ of the chili and the belachan.
  3. With the remaining ¼ pound in a mortar and pestle.
  4. In a wok with around 6 ounces of oil place chili paste and shrimp. 
  5. When the mix becomes tight, add the lime juice tamarind water blend. Reduce until you have a thick coating of chili goodness! 
  6. 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.