Sambal Prawns


Having had too much food cooked in coconut milk the past few days, I had to abandon the idea of cooking nasi lemak this weekend. The prawns that had been sitting in the freezer have to be cooked anyhow lest they lose their freshness. Prawns are no less in cholesterol than coconut milk but it is a change from the creaminess and sweetness of bubur cha-cha. Asam prawns was the first choice but I thought sambal prawns would be more appetising. And indeed they were. Too much water was added but that has been adjusted in the recipe which should taste just right. I seldom eat prawns nowadays because I have developed a slight allergy to them. I hope this will not set off another scratching frenzy.

Sambal Prawns

Ingredients:
300g prawns, shelled and deveined

Paste
10 shallots
6 red chillies, remove seeds
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemon grass, finely sliced
1cm section turmeric

6 tbsp cooking oil

tamarind pulp
1 cup (250ml) hot water

2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste

Steep tamarind pulp in hot water for 20 minutes and then strain to get the water only. Pound paste ingredients until fine. Heat oil in wok and fry paste ingredients until fragrant. Add strained tamarind water and bring to boil. Add sugar and salt. Add prawns and bring to boil again. Serve hot with rice.

Author: Peter Tan

Peter Gabriel Tan. Penangite residing in the Klang Valley. Blissfully married to Wuan. A LaSallian through and through. Slave to three cats. Wheelchair user since 1984. End-stage renal disease since 2017. Principal Facilitator at Peter Tan Training specialising in Disability Equality Training. Former columnist of Breaking Barriers with The Borneo Post. This blog chronicles my life, thoughts and opinions. Connect with me on Twitter and Facebook.

8 thoughts on “Sambal Prawns”

  1. wow! what a co-incidence. today i had sambal prawns for dinner. i love sambal prawns. (and i love anything with prawns) sambal prawns is indeed more appetising when eaten with rice… it’s the thick gravy that made the rice appetising.

    peter, have you try making sambal udang before? it’s great for rice… and bread.

  2. Lucia,
    No, I have not. I am not very fond of the smell of kaffir lime leaves in sambal udang.

  3. mmm, too bad it wasn’t sambal prawns….
    but had McPignets, hahaha. something like mcnuggets, but pork, hahha. even better

  4. Terry,
    You did not miss my sambal prawns that much after those pork cutlets, huh?

    Dave,
    Looks can be deceiving. After all, they say the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

    Ariel,
    I make myself hungry too. This is so silly.

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