INTRODUCTION

This is a very niche recipe confined to Kuching of Sarawak and East Malaysia. I was utterly shocked that Miri and Sibu residents of Sarawak do not even heard of this recipe. I also have a difficulty to trace the origin of this cuisine so uniquely confined to Kuching area. Even the use of century egg and cuttlefish also puzzling me until to date.

I have decided to blog this unique Kuching recipe as a record of my noodle dish compilation and out of the obligation as a Sarawak blogger. 

This is a recipe that either that you likes it or you hates it just like durians to some. It can be rather stinky if the belachan was not properly cooked.. The main ingredients that make this dish tasty are: dry shrimps, shrimp paste and shallots. You have to use lots of these to create the unique taste. All the others are minor ingredients.

I grows up with this and my late mum used to cook this during Sunday, It is a spicy, sweet and tangy noodle dish and commercially, it was usually served with soaked/cured cuttlefish and century eggs..At home, we served with cuttlefish and normal hard boiled eggs.

When I prepared this dish, I am equally eager to see my kid’s expression when they took their first bite.. Well, i am happy that they can still accept this though they do not really like it.. But both my wife and me loves it..

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 3-4 Adults

• 200 grams of dried prawns – soaked
• 150 grams of shrimp paste (belachan)
• 10 shallots
• 2-3 big chilli or 8 chilli padi
• 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar (Gula Apong or Gula Melaka) or white sugar
• 3-4 tablespoons of tamarind paste (Assam) – add about 1 cups of water and extract juice
• Pinches of salt (optional depending on the saltiness of your belachan)
• 2-3 litres of plain water

• 200 grams of rice vermicelli, blanched
• 1 cured cuttlefish, blanched and cut into small pieces
• 2 century eggs, cut into quarter sizes
• A handful of beansprouts
• 1 cucumber, julienned into small sizes
• Sauces for drizzling (optional) – please refer here: Cuttlefish Like Kangkong, Is It Not Weird? Sotong Kangkong (鱿鱼蕹菜）

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• In a frying pan, pan fry the belachan or shrimp paste until fragrant and aromatic. This step is very important as uncooked shrimp paste will make the dish very stinky. Properly grilled shrimp paste will give you a nice aroma. In this process, the shrimp paste may disintegrate but that is ok for the next step.

• Pound the chilli, soaked dry prawns and shallots until as fine as possible. Set aside. You can also use a blender if you wished.

• In a pot, put the water, add the pounded herbs and dried shrimps followed by toasted shrimp paste, tamarind juice and the brown sugar. Bring to boil. Once boil, lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for at least 15-20 minutes. Take a tablespoon and taste some. Add additional sugar and salt if desired.

• For assembly, have a bowl or plate, put some rice vermicelli, pour some gravy on top until it covers the rice vermicelli. Drizzle with special sauces (as explained in ingredients, if desired). Garnish with some century eggs, shredded cucumber, cuttlefish and beansprouts. Best served warm as a snack or a noodle meal.

CONCLUSION

If readers have never tried this dish, I encouraged you to try half of the recipe and see if it suits your taste buds. It should be spicy, sweet and tangy and full of cooked belachan flavour. The shredded cucumber and beansprouts make the dish very refreshing.. However, if you like sambal belachan, I believed you will like this unique dish also.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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