Sambal Fishball (Fishball in Red Chilli Paste)
Sambal fishball is an easy, spicy side dish made with Chinese fishballs and perfect as part of a South East Asian meal.
Equipment
- knife
- kitchen scissors
- chopping board
- bowl
- chopper
- ladle
Ingredients
To be ground to a paste
- 20 dried red chillies non smoky
- 250 ml water boiling
- 1 large onion
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (leave out if unavailable)
Everything Else
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 250 ml water
- 1 Tbsp white sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 500 g fish balls raw, not the fried version.
- 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice about ½ a regular lime
Instructions
Soak the Chillies
- Put the kettle on. Then, with a pair of scissors, snip the chillies into 2-3 pieces straight into a medium bowl.20 dried red chillies
- Pour the boiling water over the chillies, cover, and leaves to soak for 15 minutes. Get the other ingredients ready while waiting.250 ml water
Other Prep Work
- Peel and halve the onion. Then thinly slice half of the onion and set aside. Cut the other half in two and drop into the chopper.1 large onion
- Peel the garlic and drop into the chopper. Add the shrimp paste.2 medium cloves garlic, 1 tsp shrimp paste
- When the chillies are done soaking, drain and rinse them, then tip them into the chopper. Chop everything into a fairly fine paste. Add a little water if you need it, but it shouldn't really be necessary.
Let's get Cooking
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized wok or frying pan, over medium heat. Sauté the sliced onions for 1 minute.2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Then tip in the ground ingredients and fry this chilli paste for 2 minutes.
- Pour the water into your chopper (to "rinse" it), then pour the whole lot into the wok. Add the salt and sugar and stir to mix. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, until the sambal is reduced and has thickened.250 ml water, 1 Tbsp white sugar, ½ tsp salt
- Tip in the fish balls, bring the heat back up to medium and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes until the fishballs are done.500 g fish balls
- Check seasoning, and add more salt if it needs it. Take it off the heat.
- Stir in the lime juice, leave to rest for 2 minutes, then serve.Will keep overnight, covered, in the fridge. See notes below about making ahead.1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Notes
To Make Ahead
Make the sambal sauce itself up to 2 days ahead (without the fishballs), and store in the fridge. Add the fishballs before serving, heating up the sambal, and cooking the fishballs through.
Nutrition
Calories: 57kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 8gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 245mgPotassium: 166mgFiber: 1gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 443IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 15mgIron: 1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @azlinbloor or tag #linsfood!
Made it? Upload your Photos!Mention @azlinbloor or tag #linsfood!