Thinking the Sop Buntut and Acar Timun wouldn’t be enough for dinner last Sunday, I decided to make a small dish of sambal prawns a la Marketman. Sambal come in several dozen variations, from freshly made sambals to cooked sambals. Indonesian and Malay cooking would be vastly different without sambal, and both Mrs. MM and I adore it. We always have a bottle of sambal in the pantry or fridge (you can get it at Metro Market!Market! and other specialty delis or food stores, and whip it out when we need some spice in our food…
And here is the super easy recipe to this tasty dish. Heat up a large pan or wok on very high heat. Add some peanut oil, then several tablespoons of minced shallots, followed by garlic and some chopped tomatoes. Next add several tablespoons of bottled sambal oelek and stir for a few seconds. Add about a kilo of fresh deveined (but shells still on) prawns to the pan, salt and pepper to taste, and a few sliced chilies if you want to notch up the heat and cook until the shrimps are just done. Easy and delicious. :)
12 Responses
This looks really delicious! Truth be told, I’ve never had sambal prawns. I’m a sucker for anything made with prawns! Thanks!
What a wonderful dinner, MM! Just reading the last 3-4 articles has made me hungry.
have long wondered why there aren’t more indonesian restaurants, especially down here in the south, considering our promximity to indonesia. come to think of it, there aren’t any in davao! the place that serves nasi goreng is a dutch resto.
This sounds absolutely delicious! I have a bottle of sambal too stashed away :) Another delicious use: with raw tuna! Just toss fresh raw tuna dice with sambal, sesame oil, chopped green onions, sesame seeds, and a touch of soy…yum! A nice variation on the (usually) Japanese spicy tuna salad :)
yum! yum!
My husband love prawns, period ;) but he was never fond of Indonesian cuisine. An Indonesian consul in Davao used to rent the house of my mother-in-law and since our house is just a few steps away from them, we always get to taste some of their specialties. I noticed they were very fond of coconut milk on their food, lots of spices and a definitive taste that is very hard to define..hmm,what could it be?
Your prawns are pure heaven. Just by looking at it gets my allergy-level sky high!
BTW, I’ve been a lurker for quite sometime. I’m hooked! I couldn’t let the day pass by without reading a new post especially if the post got Apicio’s comments. Pretty hilarious & very cerebral that man heehee next to you, of course!
“I noticed they were very fond of coconut milk on their food, lots of spices and a definitive taste that is very hard to define..hmm,what could it be?”
Now that i read it again, it sound funny! Definitive taste that is hard to define? I’m quite hilarious! ;)
What i meant was their food have a definitive taste whether they make pasta, beef or fish dishes! But i can’t quite tell what was it that makes the food taste that way! Hope that clarifies it hehe
deirdregurl — i think you mean DISTINCTIVE
MM — the recipe is super easy and must be delicious. thanks lots
Would you agree MM that the best fresh shrimps and prawns are from cebu especially in mandaue’s merkado? yummmy
I love any variation of chili and seafood; mainly prawns/shrimp and crab. Lovely.
There are two restos over here in Alabang that serve very good indonesian and malaysian cuisine, Bali Blends and Balay Makan(i hope I got the name right). It’s in Westgate and they are located next to each other. Balay specialties all types of sate from chicken, beef to lamb, and soups which is always served with bowl full of rice. I try not to over eat so usually order this to share. I go to Bali for their coriander beef, different types of snacks (mostly mashed beans or sweet camote based) and their cofee, luv the smell. I haven’t been to Indonesia or Malaysia, but I guess the food is highly distinct from your usual Chinese or Filipino cuisine that perhaps makes it authentic. I have tried almost all there soups in Balay except for the buntot, and now with MM’s recent post I’ll go try it in the resto and try doing it myself with MM’s recipe. Looking forward to comparing the two wohoo!!! Btw, the restos are not so pricey and the ambiance is nice.
Sonia, yes..i was mulling over it hehehe distinctive is the word! Many thanks!