Seafood Sambal

Looking through the freezer, I realised that I still have a bunch of frozen, but still fresh portion of prawns and squids waiting to be savoured. Armed with simple ingredients, I decided to go on a seafood frenzy and make myself a Prawn & Squid Sambal!

Sambal usually only goes really well with seafood or eggs...it somehow doesn't really taste quite right with meat. A good sambal, if and when done right, can be pretty addictive. I know that if it's a really good sambal, I can never have enough of it and would go back for seconds or thirds. I am a happy camper to have the sambal all to myself for a good 3 days!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 5-6 pieces of dried chilllies (add more only if you are sure it's not a killer chilli!)
• 2 inches fresh tumeric
• 1 inch ginger
• 1 red onion
• 1 medium sized shallots (thinly sliced)
• 1 garlic
• 1 inch tamarind pulp
• Half a lemon
• Another half an inch of ginger (pounded)
• Prawns and/or Squid or Anchovies, Fried Fish, Boiled Eggs
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut dried chillies and soaked with boiling water for about 10 mins then drain
2. Blend chillies, together with tumeric, ginger, onion, garlic
3. Meantime, lavishly squeeze lemon and pounded ginger onto the fresh prawns and squid till ready to be used (this is to get rid of the fishyness)
4. Heat up oil and once hot enough, put in the sliced shallots till fragrant
5. Add in the belended ingredients and fry over low fire till the colour gets a little bit darker
6. Separately, put in the tamarind pulp in hot water and squeeze the juice before adding in to #5
7. Stir and fry over low heat for 10-15 minutes and put in the seafood
8. Add salt to taste.
9. When ready, serve it on top of rice with a side dish if stir fried vegetables.

You have yourself a yummy sambal and vegetable dish with rice. :)