#356 : Burmese Dried Prawn Sambal ~ Balachaung : recipe#218

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried prawns
sunflower oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 large spanish onion sliced thinly ; you can use shallots too
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 marble-sized shrimp paste, toasted
2 tbsp vinegar
3 tsp dried chilli paste
a pinch of tumeric powder
sugar to taste

Method:
1. Soak dried prawns in hot water for 5 minutes. Drain and blend.

2. Heat the oils in wok fry the sliced garlic and shallots separately until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels.

3. In the remaining oil, fry the dried prawn floss.

4. Mix together: the toasted shrimp paste, vinegar ,chilli paste and tumeric powder. Add to the prawn in the wok. Season with salt and sugar.

5. Fry, stirring constantly, until mixture is aromatic and dry. Cool completely before mixing in the garlic and shallot crisps.

Source : Rose's Kitchen

#296 : Dried prawn and fermented durian "sambal" : recipe#195

My late paternal grand mother aka nini Imah was a remarkable cook. Her specialty was sambal making. I am glad that I had the chance to "babysit" her while waiting for my A'level results and did "pick up" some of her skills, if not all. This sambal is my own creation based on what I have learned from her.

Dried prawns are basically made from low-grade prawns, boiled with salt and dried under the sun for days. Fermented Durian aka "Tempoyak" is made from over riped Durian fermented with salt. This "sambal" can be made spicer with the addition of bird-eye chilies.

Ingredients:

A-
1 handful dried prawns-soaked in water
2 tbsp fermented durian @ Tempoyak
2 tbsp dried chili paste
1 Spanish onion-chopped
2 garlics
water-just enough to blend the ingredients

B
sugar
salt to taste
lime juice
oil

steps
1. Heat oil in wok
2. Add blended ingredients, sugar and salt
3. Stir to combine and simmer until the "sambal" thickens ( about 20 minutes)
4. Add in the lime juice, adjust taste and dish up.

#280 salted fish "acar" recipe #165

I think this recipe is of Nyonya origin. I am not sure where I get it from though...
Nice to be eaten with warm rice...:)

Ingredients:
12 salted "rumahan" - heads removed- fried till crispy on the outside

Sambal:
1 tbsp dried chilli paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder- add a tsp water
2 shallots-sliced
1 garlic-sliced
a bit of white vinegar
sugar to taste
4 cm cimnamon stick
1 star annise

Method:
Fry shallots, garlic, cinnamon stick and star annise till fragrant
add in the chilli and turmeric paste. fry till fragrant
add seasoning and vinegar
add fish and mix well till the "sambal coat the fish
Dish up and wa~laa, your fish is ready to be eaten .... *drools*

#264:Cacah Ambuyat: binjai&tempoyak: recipe #158

Someone asked me how did I prepared my ambuyat's cacah... so here it is
Ingredients:
A)
pickled binjai
tempoyak
bird's eye chillies
shrimp paste
dried shrimps

B)
Kesturi juice
sugar (optional)
sliced chillies
soup from "lauk rabus" or "udang rabus"

steps:
blend A for about 1 minute
Add B and mix thoroughly
serve with ambuyat

Note: Bruneian dishes are usually prepared by estimation. This is to allow flexibility in the taste of the dishes. If I am preparing the cacah, I will put in more shrimp paste and kesturi juice. My dad would prefer less kesturi juice because he is not into "sour" taste. If you have extra "cacah", you can make "sambal tumis tempoyak-binjai" out of it. All you have to do is to fry sliced garlic, large onion and more chillies, then add in the "cacah" and slowly fry the mixture over small flame till the mixture thickens... see picture below :)

#188: Mango Sambal : recipe #133

A lot of tehse at pasar borong, the price? still mahal. anyway, I usually make various sambal with these, but as usual ... hurry...hurry is always the main issue... so I came up with this version;

Ingredients:
3 raw mangoes- peeled and seeded
fresh chilies
roasted belacan/shrimp paste
dry prawn- soaked in water
salt and sugar to taste
1 limau kesturi

steps:
1. In a blender, put in the roasted belacan, dried prawns and red chilies
2. On the blender... add in the mangoes and blend the ingredients together. Make sure there are still bigger bits of mangoes in the sambal.
3. season with salt, sugar and kesturi.

#119 Prawn and Petai Sambal : recipe #83

Love prawns... love petai... love sambal... these three elements together formed one mouth-watering dish.... now... let's cook !

Ingredients:
15 medium size fresh prawns, shelled and deveined
1 can petai, drained ( you can use the fresh petai too.... even better and bitter actually )
2 tbsp coconut milk
2 tbsp tamarind juice ( 1 tsp tamarind + 2 tbsp water)
chicken stock ,salt & sugar to taste

blended ingredients:
1 tsp roasted shrimp paste
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
1 dsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp dried chilli paste

steps:
1. Heat wok, add in oil
2. fry the blended ingredients until the oil surfaced.
3. add in the prawns and petai, stir
4. add in the tamarind juice and the seasoning (chicken stock and/or salt)
5. adjust the flavour, add coconut milk and add in sugar to balance the taste.

#96 Tempe sambal with baby clam: recipe#71

I first ate Tempe in 1975, that was when my late mom bought it from her Malaysian Collegue. Those years, tempe was a very rare commodity, however nowadays, you can buy it in supermarket for B$1 each or at Pasar borong , 5 for B$2. During one of the tahlil night I made this "sambal", which yield about 6 plates of sambal tempe.

yields: 6 plates of Sambal Tempe
Ingredients:
10 packets Tempe- cut into small pieces, deep fried
1 bunch long beans - cut to 2 cm slices
5 sweet potatoes- diced, deep fried
4 large cans baby clam ( red and white can)
1 handful cashew nuts- roasted

A- blended together
2 cups dried chilli paste
1 handful shallots
1/2 handful garlic
1/4 cup chopped ginger

B- others
tamarind juice
salt
chicken stock powder
1 tbsp Maggi Belacan powder
sugar ( optional)
fried shallots
1 can coconut milk

steps:
1. heat oil in wok
2. add in A- the blended chili, fry till fragrant
3. add in the long beans, fry till half cooked.
4. add in B- simmer
5. add in tempe, sweet potato and clam, stir well. If the "sambal" is too dry , ADD IN SOME NON-SWEET CHILLI SAUCE.
6. adjust seasoning and dish up.
7. to serve: sprinkle with sliced spring onions and more fried shallots

#91 SAMBAL TOMAT;recipe#68

Tomat in Indonesian means tomato. I presume the reason why this is called "sambal tomat" is because of the use of tomato in this "sambal". When you go to Indonesian restaurants, you'll probably be served with this kind of "sambal", the taste is slightly different from our "sambal tumis" because it has the intense flavour of shrimp paste. I learned this sambal from my maid and enjoyed eating it every time I made it. However, those who had "problem" with the smell and taste of shrimp paste , I don't recommend this dish to you... :)

Ingredients:
2 green chillies - break into 2 pcs
2 red chillies - break into 2 pcs
1 ripe tomato- cut into wedges
4 shallots
2 garlic
shrimp paste- 2 pcs garlic size- roasted
juice fro 1 lime
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
oil for frying

steps:
heat oil in skillet
when oil is hot, add in chillies, shallots and garlic
using low flame, fry them till soft and a little char, add in the tomato wedges
when tomato is soft , off the flame
coarsely pound the fried "thingy" and roasted shrimp paste in a mortar


before transferring the "sambal' into a clean plate, add the sugar, the soy sauce and the lime juice.
best serve with cucumber slices or "keropok"..... Yummy~

#83 KERABU MEMBANGAN : recipe #61

Its fruit season in Brunei so a lot of local fruits are available in the market. I bought "membangan" , 3 for B$2.00. Very cheap indeed, and quite a lot too, I've made one fruit into the usual "sambal membangan" and her'e another recipe that you can do within minutes :)

Ingredients:
Membangan flesh from 1 fruit, cut into small pieces.
1 spanish onion, cut into thin slices
1 garlic- chopped
2 red chilli- sliced
a few birds' eyes chili ( optional)
juice from 2 lime
1 tsp salt
fish sauce

step:
combine all ingredients, leave for at least 15 minutes before serving

#57 SPICY SALTED FISH SAMBAL recipe #37

I first ate this dish at my friend's, Md Farid place. Its a different version of sambal that I usually cooked. Here's the recipe

Ingredients:
-6 salted ikan rumahan/kembong- head removed and fried
- 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp corainder powder, 1tsp fennel powder and 1 tsp cumin powder - mix with 2 tbsp water
- 3 cm cinnamon stick, 1 star anise and 2 cardamoms
- 1 shallot-sliced
- 1 garlic- sliced
-1 pc ginger- size of garlic- sliced thinly
- 2 dsp thai sweet chili sauce

steps
- in a wok, hat oil
- add in the shallots, garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamoms~ fry till fragrant
- add in the spices mixture and chili sauce
- add in the fish, adjust flavour and dish up

#8 HOMMUS AND PASTA SALAD: recipe #5 and #6

Sunday Breakfast
After 2 weeks of never-ending makan and endless invitation to "open-houses" , My hubby said he wanted to have a healthy start for today. You see,just after puasa he lost about 3 kg and he's gaining...more than 3 kg. :)
As a biologist, let me explain why this happens. During puasa, for most of us, especially those who do lots of work outs and didn't do it during puasa, our body experiences 2 "things" . 1- lowering of metabolism... meaning our body has a lower tendency to burn the fats into energy due to lesser activities. 2- our cells which have been deprived of "food" as a result of lesser intake of food during puasa become an efficient storage for fats when puasa ends. So as a result, if we are not careful, we'll gain double what we've lost.

Back on today's topic...
So today I prepared My hubby His favourite snack vegies with Hommus dip and green tea. Whereas My Kids and I had macaroni salad. Here are the recipes:

Hommus dip ( Arabic dip)
1 can chick peas ( kacang kuda)
3 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup tahini ( sesame paste: sesame seed soak in water for a day, crushed to seperate bran, soak in salted water for an hour, toast and grind to make paste)
1clove garlic
4 roasted garlic
1/2 tsp salt
a pinch of white pepper

steps: blend everything to form a paste.

PASTA SALAD

Ingredients:
1/2 pkt pasta ( macaroni, fettucini, shells, spaghetti)
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup milk ( can be replaced by 1/4cup cream or1/4 cup mayonnaise)
patsarami ( smoked beef can be replaced by tuna or chicken slices)
1/2 tsp mixed italian herbs
cracked black pepper
salt to taste or use chicken stock powder
capers ( optional) but I love them!!
tomatoes

steps:
1. Boil pasta with salt and oil. drain
2. shallow fry the garlic and onion till soft add the milk the meat, herbs,pepper
3. Add in the pasta , tomato and capers....


and... for me I end my breakfast with this.... coffee and I put cinnamon stick in it....mmmmmm... heaven.