*See Mamma Jay’s nasi lemak recipe for prawn sambal image!
Serves 6
Ingredients:
- 1/2 kg tiger prawns – marinate with salt, turmeric, a little chilli powder and fry until crispy
- 1 big tomato – chop coarsely
- 2 big onions – slice thinly
- Tamarind juice – little or according to taste
- Coconut milk – 1/2 cup
- Pinch of sugar
Ground paste (A)
- Dried chillies – soak and grind about 20 chillies
- Garlic – 1 pod
- Lemon grass (serai) – 4 stems
- Fresh turmeric – little (approx 1 inch)
- Galangal or candle nuts – a few, approximately 2 – 3 pods
- kaffir lime leaves – 2
- Shrimp paste (belacan) – 1 heaped teaspoon (optional if you don’t like the taste or strong smell of dried shrimp paste)
Grind A. If you do not have all the ingredients, just grind chilly and garlic together.
Method:
- Saute the onions until it turns golden brown and then add in the ground chilly paste.
- When the chilly paste is cooked, add in chopped tomatoes with little water to cook until soft.
- Add the coconut milk.
- When it starts to boil, add a little tamarind juice and salt.
- When the sambal thickens, add in the prawns and a pinch of sugar (optional).
- Taste and add more chill paste/salt/tamarind according to preference.
- Do not overcook the prawns. Add the kaffir lime leaves and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes.
- When the oil splits at the side, taste and switch off the flame. There should be a thick gravy in the end.