I remember when I cook sambal belachan the first time in the little apartment in California fifteen years back, my hubby asked me what is that pungent smell. I told him is belachan (shrimp paste). I believed this pungent smell is very similar to the pungent smell of blue cheese to me. It is strange how different cultures perceive food. The following dish is a sambal belachan dish with all my favorite ingredients. I do not know if petai is available in certain countries but if it is not, you can omit it and the dish will still taste as good.
Main Ingredients:
2 tbs vegetable oil
1 lb medium size prawn, removed shell and deveined.
1 tbs sugar
8 pieces of french beans, cut into 1 ½ in long per piece
6 pieces of lady’s finger, cut into 1 ½ in long
1 cup petai, halved and seed removed
(A)
Sambal sauce ingredients:
10 pcs shallot, peeled
10 red long chillies
5 cloves garlic
100 gm dried red chillies (soaked for 2 hours, you can add more if you like it more spicy)
2 tbs dried shrimps
1/2 in cube belacan, fried and mashed
3/4 cup water
salt and ground white pepper to taste
Method:
Marinate prawns with sugar for 10 minutes. Put (A) in blender and blend well . Heat wok with oil and add blended sambal belachan sauce and stir fry for 10 minutes. Add petai, french beans and ladies finger and stir fry till the beans look darker green, about 5 mins. Add prawns and (B) and stir fry another 5 minutes or until shrimp is cooked but not overdone. Serve with hot steamed rice.
