Sambal Udang (Sambal Udang) — Malaysian Chili Prawns

• 600 glarge raw prawns (peeled and deveined, tails left on)
• 3 gfine sea salt
• 0.5 tspground turmeric
• 14dried red chiles (stems removed and seeds shaken out for medium heat)
• 250 mlhot water (for soaking chiles)
• 120 gred shallots (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 4 clovegarlic
• 3fresh red chiles (roughly chopped)
• 12 gbelacan (toasted until aromatic)
• 60 mlneutral cooking oil
• 1large yellow onion (thinly sliced)
• 2 tbsptamarind paste
• 120 mlwater
• 18 gpalm sugar (or Malaysian gula melaka if available)
• 1lime (cut into wedges)

Instructions

1. 1

   Pat the prawns very dry with kitchen paper, then toss them with 3 g fine sea salt and 0.5 tsp ground turmeric. Refrigerate them while you make the sambal paste, but do not marinate for longer than 30 minutes because the salt will firm the prawns too much.

2. 2

   Place the dried red chiles in a heatproof bowl and cover them with 250 ml hot water for 15 minutes. Drain them well, then blend the softened chiles with shallots, garlic, fresh red chiles, toasted belacan, and 60 ml of fresh water until you have a fairly smooth rempah paste.

3. 3

   Heat the oil in a wok or wide frying pan over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the sliced onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often, until the onion softens and begins to sweeten without browning hard.

4. 4

   Add the blended rempah to the wok and lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring frequently, until the sambal darkens, the raw chile smell disappears, and the oil begins to separate at the edges.

5. 5

   Stir the tamarind paste with 120 ml water, then add it to the sambal with the palm sugar and 2 g fine sea salt. Simmer for 3 minutes so the sambal becomes glossy and balanced between hot, salty, sweet, and tangy.

6. 6

   Increase the heat to medium and add the marinated prawns in a single layer as much as possible. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, turning once, until the prawns curl, turn opaque, and are coated in the thick sambal.

7. 7

   Turn off the heat as soon as the prawns are just cooked, because residual heat will finish them. Rest for 2 minutes, then serve with lime wedges and spoon any remaining sambal over the prawns.