Sambal Belacan Food

SAMBAL BELACAN

Steps:

• Toast belacan in a small pan until crumbly. This will take about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and allow it to cool.
• Remove seeds from chilies and cut into small pieces.
• Transfer the chilies to a stone mortar. Pound with the pestle until the pieces are broken. Add toasted belacan and continue to pound until desired fineness. Alternatively, chilies and toasted belacan may be place in a food processor and processed until fine.
• Squeeze in the lime juice and stir to mix. Transfer to a small dish.
• If not consuming right away, transfer to a jar and store in the refrigerator. Squeeze in the lime juice just before serving. Best consumed within 2 to 3 days.

SAMBAL BELACAN

Steps:

• Clean chilies with running water, seeded and sliced. Transfer the chilies to a mortar.
• Heat up a wok or pan on low heat and "toast" the belacan until aromatic. The texture of the belacan would turn dry and powdery after toasting. Transfer out and add to the chilies and start pounding with the pestle until fine. (Some people like their sambal belacan somewhat coarse so it's personal preference.)
• Transfer out to a bowl, add salt and sugar to taste and add lime juice (or Calamansi lime juice). Blend well. You can keep the sambal in the refrigerator for a couple of days, or freeze in the freezer for a longer period.

MALAYSIAN SAMBAL BELACAN RECIPE

Steps:

• Blend the onion and garlic with some oil with an electric blender. Add some water to facilitate blending if necessary.
• Boil the dried chili in water for ten minutes. Remove and drain.
• Cut fresh red chilies into sections. Blend both chilies with some oil and water to form a chili paste.
• Soak the dried shrimp in water for fifteen minutes. Drain. Blend the dried shrimp until it looks like meat floss.
• Place the belacan in a small pan without oil, roast it slowly until it is thoroughly dry, and break up into large granules.
• Saute the onion and garlic over low to medium heat until slightly brown and aromatic.
• Soak the tamarind pulp in hot water for ten minutes, then remove the pulp and seeds by pouring through a strainer.
• Add the dried shrimp, belacan, palm sugar chili paste, and tamarind juice to the sambal. Simmer over low heat for thirty minutes.
• Season with salt.
• When the red oil starts bubbling around the paste, it is done.

SAMBAL BELACAN

Steps:

• Using a blender, process all ingredients until finely ground.

SAMBAL BELACAN

Steps:

• Belacan has an intense aroma, so it is best to open a window or turn on the stove's exhaust fan to its highest setting when toasting it. Toast the belacan in a frying pan over medium heat, using the back of a spatula to rub it against the surface of the pan. Stir and continue to toast until it is brittle and lightens in color, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.
• Seed the chiles if you prefer a milder sauce. Finely chop the chiles. Transfer the chiles and makrut lime leaf to a mortar, and grind with a pestle until blended. Stir in the toasted belacan and continue to pound until you obtain a fine, dark paste. If you don't have a mortar and pestle, pulse the ingredients with a small blender or food processor to form a chunky purée. Use a spatula to keep pressing down the paste as you blend to make it smoother.
• Add sugar and salt to taste. Sugar helps tone down the pungency; salt is optional and usually unnecessary. The sauce should be a balance between savory and spicy. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, squeeze the limes into the sambal and mix well.