Too hard…

I received these tubes of belacan (dried prawn paste)…

…from my cousin in Bintulu the other day, thanks so very much to her for sending me so many and of course, her generous gesture is indeed very very much appreciated.

We would never settle for anything less than our very own Sarawak Bintulu belacan which is priced at over RM50.00 a kilo, depending on the season. When it is the bubuk (tiny baby shrimps) season, it may be a little cheaper, not much…just a little and we would grab the fresh supply to stock up and keep in the fridge. At its worth-its-weight-in-gold price, we have no choice but to try and use sparingly to stretch it over as long a period as possible. Of course, there are some that are of lower quality like those rather red coloured ones that some say get the colour from the use of dye. That is why one needs to know the seller well or people in the know in Bintulu who would get the belacan from the source, the people making…and one would need to know who makes better ones as well…and thankfully, we have my cousin there!

With my fresh supply, now I can go ahead and use a little more of my existing stock so that day, I decided to make some sambal belacan ikan bilis (prawn paste dip with dried anchovies). I pounded some chilies till really fine…

– that is I do not get to see the seeds anymore.

Then, I added the ikan bilis and pounded them till they were really crushed…

Oh yes! If you are going to give this a try, do rinse it in water first before use.

Next, I added some belacan and also, one shallot, sliced…

…and pounded those along with the rest, making sure that everything blended well together.

Lastly, I squeezed a little bit of calamansi lime juice and mixed it with the sambal well so that it will not be so dry and also for the fragrance and the slightly sourish taste…

Ok, done!

Hmmmm…I think I pounded it too hard, so hard that my missus thought it was meat floss or something. Obviously, she needs a new pair of glasses. Tsk! Tsk! Well, never mind! At least, I would say it was very nice…

…and would go really well with cut cucumber or some blanched kangkong (water spinach) or lightly boiled long beans, brinjal, ladies fingers or four-angle beans…or with rice.

With the price of our Rajang hay bee (dried prawns) these days, I guess the ikan bilis would be a great alternative, not that it is very much cheaper. Ah well!!! What is cheap these days? Nothing! Sighhhhh!!!