Prawn Sambal Bostador, a Eurasian Recipe from Singapore and Malaysia
Prawn Sambal Bostador is a delicious, somewhat spicy dish of prawns cooked in a chilli paste. This Eurasian recipe has its roots in Portuguese Malacca (Malaysia), and is very much Malay influenced in the spices used.
Using a pair of kitchen scissors, cut the dried chillies up into 2-3 pieces, depending on length and soak in hot water for 15 minutes to soften.
Soak the dried shrimp in hot water for 10 minutes to soften.
While waiting, quarter the onion, peel and clean the prawns.
When the chillies and dried prawns have had their soaking times, drain and move on to the next step.
Place all the paste ingredients in a chopper and blitz to a semi fine paste. Chances are, your dried chillies will still be a bit coarse, that's ok. Set aside.
Prep the prawns (while the chillies and dried shrimps are soaking)
Clean the prawns. Twist the head off carefully, leaving the rest of the shell on.
The intestinal vein that runs along the back of the prawn should be visible and just sticking out. Give it a firm but gentle pull. Rinse the prawns well. I prefer to leave the shells on, but that's up to you.
Let's cook our Prawn Bostador
Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a wok or deep frying pan on medium heat and fry the garlic slices for 1 minute until they're just beginning to brown. Drain on a saucer lined with kitchen paper and set aside.
Add the second tablespoon of oil to the wok/frying pan and turn the heat up to medium-high.
Add the ground paste and turmeric to the oil and stir fry for about 2 minutes until you get a strong aroma off it.
Add the prawns, coating them completely with the paste, for about 30 seconds,
Now add the the coconut milk, water, salt and sugar, cook for another 3-5 minutes until the prawns are thoroughly cooked. The time it takes will depend on the size of your prawns/shrimps; the bigger they are, the longer they will take to cook.
Stir in the vinegar, and immediately take it off the heat.
Scatter the fried garlic slices and fresh herbs and serve immediately with Nasi Lemak or just a plate of steamed rice.