Kitchen Bytes: Sambal paste

A fiery condiment that many Malaysians will be extremely familiar with - the sambal. It's perfect to go along with fried chicken, fish, tofu as well as in stirfry for vegetables such as water spinach (kangkung), beans, okra, eggplant and in fried noodles and fried rice.

Sambal Paste
Ingredients:
5 dried chillies
2 cloves Garlic
A handful of dried shrimp - fried
10 shallots or 2 onions
About 2cm ginger
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon oil
A bit of hot water

Method:
1. In a blender or stone mortar & pestle, grind into a thick paste all the ingredients.
2. Heat oil in a pan and saute paste well until fragrant and the oil breaks on the surface.
3. You can store the sambal paste in the fridge and use it as a fiery condiment when you need it.