All Purpose Sambal

Sambal Stingray

Ever since I first tasted sambal stingray, I have always loved it. This dish is popular with diners at Newton Hawker Center, Singapore.

Sambal stingray is easy to cook. And tastes heavenly. The secret is not in the stingray, it is in the sambal. Get a good sambal, and you've got yourself a delightful dish !

This sambal recipe is good. But not quite there yet. Try it, see if you like it.

1-2 lb whole Stingray, cleaned
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt, as needed

Rub stingray with lemon juice and salt, set aside for 10 mins. I normally microwave the stingray for 3-4 minutes, then either bbq as described below or fry in a kwali with the sambal paste, covering to prevent steam from escaping.

Large piece of banana leaf or use aluminum foil.
2-4 toothpicks depending on size of banana leaf, soaked in water.
3-4 fresh limau kasturi [kalamansi limes], cut into halves [Substitute: kaffir or key limes cut into wedges] [optional]
1 onion, sliced, for garnish [optional]
A few sprigs fresh coriander leaves [cilantro], for garnish [optional]

Blend the following in a blender / mortar & pestle:

8 shallots, peeled.
4 garlic, peeled.
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled.
2 stalks lemongrass, tender ends only.
6 dried chilies, softened in hot water.
3 tbsp chili paste or chili powder.
1 tsp belacan [dried shrimp paste]
1 tsp dried prawns, softened in hot water.

Double the quantity and you can keep the sambal in the fridge for general use in all-purpose frying of e.g. chicken thigh, fish, sotong, etc. Basically you fry the chicken, fish, etc first, then add the sambal as the final step, together with a few limau perut leaves for extra frafgrance.

Use the watery liquid from the softened dried prawn or softened dried chili to help in the blending.

1 tbsp tamarind paste, softened in hot water.

1 cup warm water or as needed, omit this if you use the liquid from the softened dried prawn or softened dried chillis.
1-2 tsp palm sugar or dark brown sugar.
1-2 tsp salt.
2 tbsp groundnut oil.

Adjust the sugar and salt to taste, after adding the tamarind liquid.

In a small bowl, using your fingers, mix tamarind paste with warm water, strain, discard seeds, set aside.

Heat wok on high, add oil, stir-fry ground paste till fragrant, about 3-5 mins. Add tamarind, sugar, salt to taste, reduce heat to med, simmer till sauce is thicken slightly. Add more sugar and salt as needed, do a taste test of the sambal.

Remove from heat, allow sauce to cool.

Soften banana leaf in hot water, dry well with a tea towel, lightly coat with vegetable oil.

Spoon and spread half the sauce on the banana leaf, lay the stingray fillets on top, spoon the rest of the sauce on the fish.

Fold the banana leaf into a packet, secure with toothpicks.

Grill on a hot charcoal bbq grill or indoor grill or stovetop grill pan, 10-15 mins, depending on the thickness of the fish, turn over once.

Garnish with sliced onions, coriander leaves and lime wedges.

Serve hot with steamed rice or a fresh salad.


ADDENDUM: 15-Nov-09

I decided to revisit my All-Purpose Sambal recipe, because it tastes quite good, and I want to make a bigger batch this time for fridge storage. This time I use a weighing scale to measure the quantities more accurately, so that if I should make the sambal paste again using the same exact quantities, I can expect the same consistent taste.

Shallot 300 gm
Garlic 100 gm
Ginger 50 gm
Lemon Grass 3 stalks (that was all I have on hand, should have 5 stalks)
Dried Chillies 20 gm
Chili Powder 5 heaped tbl
Penang Belachan (Shrimp Paste) 30 gm
Dried Prawns 30 gm
---
Tamarind 3 tbl
Sugar 2 tbl
Salt 1 tbl

NOTE: Adjust the amount of sugar and salt added to balance the sour taste of the tamarind.

About 2 cups water -- use the liquid / water from the tamarind bowl, dried prawns and dried chillies.

Roast the Belachan : Place the belachan in a small bowl and microwave under 10% power for 4 minutes - this is to dry out the moisture. Then carefully mw again for 1-2 min at high power (i.e. normal operation). Check to see while mw under high power that the belachan does not burn. Let cool.

Tamarind: Place 2 heaped tbl in a bowl and add hot water to cover. The tamarind will develop into a paste after 30-60 min.

Dried prawns and dried chillies: Likewise, soak the dried prawns and dried chillies in hot water, each in separate bowls.

Blend all the ingredients except the tamarind, sugar and salt in a blender. Ensure you don't add too much liquid to the ingredients. This is so that when you add the blended paste to the hot oil, it will cook properly. If the blended paste is too "liquid" you will be unable to cook the blended paste at all. Actually the shallots, garlic, ginger, and lemon grass, together with the softened dried prawns and softened dried chillies, have enough natural juice in them to produce a blended paste without the need for you to add any water to the paste at all. If you do add water, add sparingly.

This time I decided to use my favorite SPRING saucepan, as it conducts heat extremely well and evenly: even a small flame will make for a very hot pan, due to its excellent conductivity!

Into the pan I added about 6 tbl of canola oil - canola oil has a high heating temperature, good for sauteing the sambal paste!

Now the critical step: add the blended paste into the hot oil and observe. I set the Rinnai flame on medium heat. The sambal paste starts to cook almost immediately and bubble - a sure sign of success - meaning (1) your paste does not contain too much water, (2) the oil is hot enough, and (3) you have enough oil to cook the paste. If the 3 factors are not balanced the sambal paste will not cook properly but stick to the pan because the paste has too much water.

Adjust the flame so that you can continue to cook the paste without it burning. Stir continuously until the paste becomes aromatic. If the oil is enough you will see the paste cooking nicely with bubbling oil at the side of the paste. The paste should not stick to the pan bottom, but should move easily when you stir the paste.

Deciding how long to cook is critical: you need to assess how long to cook the sambal paste in order to develop its aroma. The longer you can cook without burning the sambal paste the better it will be.

After about 5 minutes I decided the paste was sufficiently aromatic, and I could then add the tamarind, sugar and salt. You need to taste the sambal paste after this to ensure there is enough sugar and salt to balance the sourish taste of the tamarind. Add no more than 2 cups of water and cook under a low flame. The aroma will continue to develop.

The sambal paste is cooked properly when some oil floats on the surface after several minutes of cooking under a low flame. I allow the mixture to cook until the paste thicken as the liquid gradually evaporates.

When cool dish the sambal paste into a glass or plastic container to keep in the fridge.

TIP: You can add more sugar or salt to the cooled sambal paste to suit your taste.