Sambal Belacan Okra

Sambal belacan is very popular among the asian. Sambal belacan is a blend of hot peppers and roasted shrimp paste. I am so lucky to easily find a good quality belacan (shrimp paste) at the asian store. The belacan was made in Penang, Malaysia. A friend of mine gave me some of her homegrown okra (kacang bendi in bahasa melayu) today. I like to eat the okra simply by blanching them in hot water for a while and then tossed them with some spices.

For today, I cooked sambal belacan as the dipping sauce for this okra.

Ingredients for sambal belacan:
2 medium tomatoes
1 tablespoon of really hot chili paste(I am using a blend of red hot chili, onion, garlic, ginger and lemongrass)
3 tablespoons of apple sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon belacan (roasted shrimp paste)
1 tablespoon olive oil

Method:
Cook okra (whole)either by steaming or blanching in hot water. Toss and set aside.
Cut tomato into halve and then slice them thinly. Set aside.
In a medium pot, heat olive oil.
Fry the hot chili paste and shrimp paste.
Make sure you open all of the kitchen windows and turn on your kitchen fan as the smell of this roasted belacan is overwhelmingly strong.
Add apple sauce and salt.
I am adding apple sauce to tone down the hotness of the chili paste I have blended.
Add tomatoes.
Stir and taste. Cook for just 5 minutes.
Turn off the stove and serve over the cooked okra.
Superb! Delicious!

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