SAMBAL IKAN BILIS

     
      My acquaintance with SAMBAL started when I was introduced to NASI LEMAK.   A humble accompaniment for the great Malaysian delicacy - Nasi Lemak.  Since then I had been trying to practice and perfect this simple dish at home.  Every household would have some tricks down their sleeves in making a perfect Sambal.  It goes hand in hand not only with nasi lemak but also mutually compliments with rice.  It adds a fiery taste to rice dishes.  Without sambal, I would say nasi lemak is just bland. 
     Sambal is a hot sauce made with finely ground, round locally available Red Chillies along with Shallots, Garlic and Shrimp Paste.  The word 'Sambal' means 'Hot & Spicy Sauce' in Javanese.  The sambal usually made for nasi lemak is without the onions and dried anchovies.  It's the simple 'Sambal Tumis'.  But the two simple ingredients, the onion rings and the fried dried anchovies totally elevates the taste of the dish by giving an awesome texture and flavour.  The onions enhance the aroma and sweetness whilst the fried anchovies add crunchiness to this  Sambal Ikan Bilisi. 

HOW TO MAKE SAMBAL IKAN BILIS

Cuisine : South East Asian
Course : Side Dish 
Preparation Time : 5-10 Minutes
Cooking Time : 20 - 30 Minutes
Spice Level : High
Difficulty : Medium
Serves : 4
Author : SM

INGREDIENTS:

Dry Red Chillies - 10-12 Pieces.
Birds-eye Chillies - 5-7 Pieces
Shallots - 10 Nos.
Garlic - 3 Cloves.
Dry Shrimp Paste(Belacan) - 2 Tspns
Tamarind - 2 Tspn
Salt - To Taste
Palm Sugar (Gula Melaka) - 3 Tspns
Onions - 1 No.
Anchovies - 2 Tbspn.
Oil - 3 Tbspns

METHOD :

• Soak the Dried Red Chillies in hot water for 20-30 minutes until they are soft.
• Dry roast the Shrimp paste until fragrant.
• Grind soaked Dry Chillies, Roasted Shrimp Paste, Birds Eye Chillies, Garlic and Shallots into a smooth paste.
• Soak the Dried Anchovies for about 10-15 minutes.
• Clean and wash them well and allow it to dry on a paper towel.
• Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the Anchovies and keep it aside.  
• In the remaining oil saute the ground paste on a high flame for about 10 minutes or until all moisture evaporates.
• If the mix is a bit dry, add some more oil and saute them on a low flame for another 5-10 minutes or until oil separate from the mix.
• Add tamarind extract and boil it for another 5 minutes on a low flame.
• Add salt and palm sugar and mix well.
• At this stage, the sambal should be fragrant, if not saute it for some more time.
• Finally, add the onions cut into rings and deep fried anchovies and give a quick stir.
• Leave this in low flame for few minutes.
  

NOTES :

• I used the long- wrinkled variety which is less spicy. To reduce the spiciness can snip off the soaked dry chillies into two and de-seed them.
• Blend the shallots coarsely.
• Grind the paste with less water to avoid splattering while sauteing the Sambal in high flame.
• Adding the onions cut into rings gives a good texture to the sambal.
• Can make the sambal chillies without fried anchovies too.
• If adding fried anchovies (ikan bilis) deep fry them first and set them aside. 
• And finally, toss them into the Sambal to get the much-needed crispiness.
• Can use the same oil to saute the sambal.
• Anchovies and dry shrimp paste will add saltiness to the sambal, so add salt at the final stage if necessary. 
• Can add Sugar instead of Palm sugar.
• Serve it at room temperature.