sambal belacan

This is a must have condiment in every meal in Malaysia!

seriously..

even when we travel abroad our meals are not complete without this sambal

ask any Malaysian and I bet you they would agree with me :)

Here's how I make it:

 flatten some belacan (size of your thumb) and place it on a non-stick pan over small fire

the idea here is to get the belacan toasted and crispy 

while waiting for the belacan to be ready, wash and dry 3 fresh red chillies and 2 "chilli padi"

using your fingers tear up the chillies into small pieces and put it into a mortar

add 1 teaspoon salt and half teaspoon sugar

by this time the aroma of the belacan has engulfed your kitchen and it has become crispy

remove pan from the fire and toss all the belacan into the mortar 

before you start pounding cover the top of the mortar with your left palm

this is to avoid tiny yet watery pieces of chilli or its seeds from entering your eyes

pound gently at first and as the chillies break up you could speed up your pounding

the meshed up chillies would get very wet and soggy

so be careful of those watery chillies from 'jumping' into your eyes

once all the chillies are meshed up, not too fine, squeeze the juice of 3 calamansi and mix well

remove it from the mortar and put it in a small bowl together with some cut calamansi

store sambal belacan in a tight lid container and keep it inside the fridge 

it can last for many days!

voila :)

a note on belacan

belacan are shrimp paste and it stinks especially for those who are not familiar with it

they are packed in round or square shapes and it is quite damp

storage is best in the fridge at all times