Spicy Prawn Sambal

Whenever I make sambal, I do not have a specific recipe which I follow. I tend to make up the recipe as I go along, making do with whatever I have in my pantry.

For making sambal I usually use ground dry chillies that I've soaked in hot water. For this prawn sambal I did things a little differently. Due to the small quantity of red chilli I'm using in this recipe, I decided to grind the soaked dry chilli with one red onion.

Go on to prepare the other necessary ingredients.

In a pan, heat some oil and fry the sliced spanish onion  along with some ginger garlic paste till soft and fragrant.

Then go on to add the chopped tomato and curry leaves and fry about a minute or so.

Add the chilli onion paste and fry till it becomes dry and the raw chilli smell is gone. Then add the dark soy sauce and mix well. You may wonder why am I adding dark soy sauce in the sambal. I do this to make the sambal appear in a deep red colour just like the ones you get at restaurants.

 

 

 

Add some water and salt and simmer for 15-20 minutes. 

 

Add some tamarind juice and the prawns and toss well. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes or till the sambal reaches desired consistency.

SPICY PRAWN SAMBAL

+PRINT RECIPE HERE 

INGREDIENTS:

300 g prawns, shelled & deveined

1 spanish onion, sliced

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 sprig curry leaves

1 tomato, finely chopped

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 tbsp tamarind juice

2 tbsp oil

Salt to taste

To make paste:  

10-12 dry red chillies, soaked in hot water

1 red onion

METHOD:

1)  Take 10-12 dry red chillies and soak it in hot water for 15-20 minutes till soft.

2)  Grind one red onion and the soaked red chillies with a little water  to make a paste.

3)  In a pan heat 2 tbsp of oil and fry the sliced onion and ginger garlic paste for  about 1-2 minutes till soft and fragrant.

4)  Add the chopped tomato and curry leaves and continue frying for 1 minute.

5)  Add the chilli onion paste and fry for 4-5 minutes till the raw smell of the chilli is almost gone. Make sure to keep stirring at this point so that the paste would not burn and get stuck to the bottom of the pan.

6)  Add the dark soy sauce and mix well.

7)  Add 1 1/2 cups of water and simmer the sambal for 15-20 minutes in medium low heat till the raw chilli smell is completely gone the sambal has thicken a little.

8)  Add the tamarind juice and prawns and toss well.

9)  Cook for another 5 minutes or till the sambal reaches desired consistency.

10)  Remove from heat and sprinkle some chopped coriander.

* This recipe serves 2