Belacan, made of fermented shrimp, is a popular condiment in the Asian countries. One of the most popular dish variations for belacan is none other than sambal belacan. It is one of the essentials in many Malaysian recipes. The sambal helps in enhancing the flavours of many dishes.
Tips for Making Sambal Belacan
To prepare this sambal, it is best to use either bird’s eye chillies or cayenne chillies. These two chillies are spicy, which is perfect for the dip. You can also opt to use both of the chillies together; it’s up to you!
Calamansi juice is vital when preparing the dip. The juice helps in giving the sour taste to it. However, if you can’t find any calamansi, you can also use lime instead. This is the best substitute for calamansi.
Belacan Recipe
Difficulty: Easy6
servings5
minutes15
minutes32
kcalMost Malaysian cuisines wouldn’t be complete without adding sambal belacan into the recipe. It is a famous spicy and raw Malaysian condiment made out of shrimp paste, chillies and lime juice.
Ingredients
10g of dried shrimp paste (belacan)
4 fresh chilli peppers
4 bird’s eye chillies
1 teaspoon of sugar
¼ teaspoon of salt
2 calamansi
Directions
- Firstly, take out a dry pan and place the shrimp paste in it. Then, toast the shrimp paste until fragrant. Once done, remove it and set aside to cool.
- Next, put in the shrimp paste and chillies into a stone mortar. Pound them using the pestle, ensure that they are evenly mixed. You can also use an electronic blender or a food processor for this step.
- After that, squeeze in the calamansi juice to the pounded shrimp paste and chillies. Add salt and sugar to taste. Stir it to mix.
- Lastly, store the sambal in a dry and clean jar or bottle. You can store the it in the refrigerator up to one month.
Ways to Enjoy The Dip
You can enjoy the sambal paste with an endless amount of dishes. Add the sambal into your rice dishes, such as nasi ayam penyet and nasi ulam. You can also use the sambal paste to prepare some vegetable dishes, such as kangkung and petai. Without the sambal, your dishes would be incomplete.
If you enjoy and love Malaysian cuisines, explore Lokataste Recipe for more!
