Apr 6, 2010
Sambal Belacan Asparagus with Shrimp
Posted by Bel.C
I went to the market to get breakfast and saw the asparagus was on sale, immediately I picked up a bunch home. On Sunday I was thinking to make the asparagus and shrimp combination with Sambal Belacan. Previously I’ve made the Stir Fry Asparagus with Clam in white sauce. If you want something more exotic, you definitely have to try this. But my roommate had reminded me I cannot eat spicy food because I just had my upper wisdom teeth removed last Friday. No spicy food, no solid food, no drinking from straw, no alcohol …. and so forth of restrictions from my dentist. I guess there is nothing but liquids, porridge and soup for me this week.
Anyway, I still ended up cooking the Malaysian style Sambal Belacan Asparagus with Shrimp as this looks far more tempting, so all of these go to Eric as he loves spicy food. I used a super easy and lazy way of making the Sambal Belacan and it came out just great. I used the pre-made Sambal Oelek bought from the Asian market, it is grounded red chili and garlic, stored in a clear round plastic bottle with a green lid, and a chicken symbol in the front. Don’t confuse with Siriracha which is a chili paste. This Sambal Oelek you can still see the chili seeds, sometimes I use it for dipping sauce too.
To make Sambal from scratch check on the Sambal Okra for the preparation of it.
Ingredients:
1 bunch fresh asparagus (trim the bottom off about 1.5″, then cut into 2″ pieces)
12-15 shrimps (deveined, shelled)
12-15 tiny dried shrimps (roughly 2 tsp soaked and chopped)
2 garlic cloves (peeled, minced)
1-2 tsp pre-made Sambal (depends on spiciness)
1 tsp Belacan (dissolve with some water)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp waterCooking Method:
- Heat 2 tablespoon oil over medium, stir fry the chopped dried shrimp until fragrant, add in minced garlic and stir fry till golden brown.
- Turn heat to low, add in Sambal (depends on spiciness preferred) and belacan, let the paste cook till it surface from the oil.
- Add the shrimps and give a quick few stir, then add in the asparagus.
- Add in sugar, salt and some water. Continue to cook until asparagus and shrimps are cooked but not overcooked.
Serve hot.
I started a food blog last year that I had to abandon this last winter due to work. However, as I am thinking of reviving it, I have decided to explore the food of my childhood, which not the normal American fare. My father is/was a cultural anthropologist, and I spent some years of my childhood in Kampong Bahru (old spelling) in/near Kuala Lumpur. I was a child then, so I don’t have recipes and only a few names for dishes, but as I was searching for English-language recipes involving “blachan” today, your blog kept coming up. Which is just a loooooong way of say, Thank YOU! I’m definitely telling my parents and sisters about your awesome blog. The food you show is somewhat more Chinese-oriented than the food of my Malay childhood, but there is sooo much that is the same. If I (and I probably will) use any of your recipes for my own blog’s exploration of Southeast Asian cuisine, I will definitely be telling others about your blog, too.
[...] can always prepare a full list of scrumptious Sambal dishes, such as Sambal Okra, Sambal Sotong, Sambal Asparagus with Shrimp, Vegetable Curry and [...]