Sambal Udang (Prawn Sambal)
April 18th, 2011Recipes, Malaysian Recipes, Recipes, Nyonya Recipes, Recipes36 Comments
Sambal Udang Recipe (Prawn Sambal)
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons oil
600g (1.5 lbs) prawn/shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, mixed with 1/2 cup water and strained
3 kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
2 teaspoons salt or to taste
1 teaspoons sugar or to taste
Spice Paste
10 dry red chilies, deseeded
10 shallots, peeled
30g (1 oz) belacan
Method:
- Pound the spice paste using a mortar and pestle or grind with a food processor. Set aside.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a wok. Add the spice paste and stir-fry until aromatic.
- Add the prawn and continue to stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the water, tamarind juice and bring it to a quick boil. Add in the kaffir lime leaves, salt, and sugar. Dish out and serve immediately.



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Brings back such great memories for me, cause this is first dish I cooked for my (future) husband. He brought over fresh caught baby shrimp. Only thing was I had to shell and devein, yuk. One of my all time favs too, my mom made a mean one too. I’ll have to try your recipe.
Interesting to find out your recipe, there are so many versions.
Your shrimps looks so tempting!
Thanks Helen.
Same goes to me. I love gulai assam and I love prawns. Hence I can eat this every day with rice. :)
This sambal udang is best made with local prawn caught from the seas in Penang. It just tastes so much better!!
The spiciness of the chilli, the fragrant kuah (gravy)… the sweetness of the fresh prawn! Ah almost a pleasurable sin!
Yeah, I also love the Malay version of sambal udang. Different recipe but the taste is equally tantalizing.
This sounds absolutely amazing.
Absolutely Heather. This prawn sambal = total deliciousness.
This is my all time favourite! I remember a friend’s mom, who is Nyonya, cooked really yummy sambal udang!
That looks just lovely.
looks delicious…surely goin to give it a try.but i’d like to ask 1 thing,what if one doesn’t have belacan,as u don’t get it easily in India?is there any substitute for it n?pls let me know.thank you
looks delicious,will definately try it.however i’d like to ask 1 thing,what if one doesn’t have belacan as its not easily available in India?is there a substitute for it?pls let me know.thank you.
Unfortunately, belacan is the soul of the dish. Without it, it’s just not to same. :(
Do you have a particular brand/type of dried chili you use in the US? The one i have is super spicy and it’s hard to get my sambal to look red without becoming too spicy for my consumption. In Malaysia we have the red chili which is not hot. Is there a similar variety in the US or a good substitue??
Chili arbol is what I used.
I’ve never had prawn sambal before, but it looks delicious. Def going to have to give it a try this weekend. Try.
Bee, I miss you!!
Your food looks scrumptious as always!
are the prawns weighed b4 shelling, or after?
Mmmm, so long didn’t cook this liao!
Add some petai in it…….mmm, taste heavenly!
Is the belacan shrimp paste the same as the filipino bagoong? We also call it shrimp paste, but it leaves a brown color as opposed to the bright red in your picture.
Not sure about bagoong. The bright red is because of the dried red chilies, the belacan (which is dark brownish) doesn’t add much color.
I absolutely LOVE sambal udang. Especially if it’s paired with coconut rice. :P Am back in Penang now, wish you were here! I think I just missed you by a few weeks…
Have fun in Penang. Yes, I left on March 31. Didn’t want to leave though. ;)
Looks so great!
Just one question: no fish sauce? Not even salt? No lemongrass?
It sounds so easy I just have to try it!
OMG i love sambal prawns….u r my hero for posting this recipe…would u be able to post the Malay version as well?
your sambal udang looks tasty. mmmmmmmmmm.
It’s a mouth watering recipe. I love shrimp. One of my favorite recipe is mustard shrimp, shrimp cooked in mustard powder and whole mustard seeds.
I tried this tonight and it does taste awesome! I had reduced to 1.5 cup of water and yet it was quite watery so I add some wet flour. The prawns looked a little overcooked in spite of cooking for less than 2 minutes, maybe I should reduced the heat?
Not supposed to add wet flour to the sambal udang. If you don’t like too much gravy, reduce the water. How big is your prawn, they shouldn’t be overcooked in less than 2 minutes.
Hi there… Would love to try this recipe! Looks so yummy! May I know if tamarind pulp is also known as Assam?
Yes.
Hi, reply me asap if you see this comment :)
This recipe is for how many people?
Is kaffir lime leaf the same as lemongrass? if it is not, can kaffir lime leaf be replaced by lemongrass?
Thanks! ^^ Really looking forward to make this dish ^^
2 – 3 people. NO, they are different
Oh, and how long do we take to make this dish ? Thank you (: