Sambal Belacan - Malaysian chili paste

Do you like hot, spicy, make-your ears-ring kind of food? If you do, then you have to read on. Even if you're not a fan of hot foods, keep reading, you can add this as a little addition to whatever is on your plate -from as little as the size of a pea to as much as a tablespoon. Sambal Belacan* is a Malaysian chili paste, an accompaniment rather than a dish. Add it to anything savoury (just saying in case you thought it would go on a bowl of Rice Krispies) to give it a kick. The taste is full and flavoursome -it's quite addictive too, so beware. When we were children, we would take a piece of hot, buttered toast and spread a thin layer of belacan on top. Sounds gross I know. Come to think of it, it also sounds like breakfast, so if you get the urge to put some belacan on your cereal, you go right ahead. The key ingredient to this is the belacan itself. It is a shrimp paste. You can find it in Chinese supermarkets. Step 1 - Preparing the belacan: You only need a very small amount of the belacan, a tablespoon, which you will now toast in a small pan over a high fire. Basically you want to burn it to release its aroma. It is a strong aroma by the way -so make sure your windows are open and your extractor is on high… you have been warned…! Step 2 - To complete the recipe, you will need: 1 tablespoon toasted belacan 3 large red chilis (serrano or poblano), sliced 1 large green chili (serrano or poblano), sliced 10 small green chilies (the smallest and skinniest you can find) The juice of 3 limes 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar Yields approximately 1 cup With a stone mortar, start grinding the chilis hard. As the chilis soften up, add the belacan and continue to grind. Add a little bit of water if it gets too dry. Add the lime juice and mix well. The mixture should be semi-solid, it shouldn't drip off a spoon. This will keep in the fridge for several weeks. Serve with rice, soup, fish, meat, noodles etc. *pronounced blachan