I’ve developed these kits to use dried ingredients so that  –

1. they can be shipped anywhere around the world, and

2. they don’t need refrigeration etc.

My recipes are constantly evolving, with the latest example being the one for my Dry Sambal Belacan – a condiment made using onion, shrimp paste, chilli, etc.

As a Thermomix owner, using my Dry Sambal Belacan kit is easy – I just throw the packet contents into the TM bowl, add water and oil (amounts are specified on the label), and cook it for 30–45 minutes (measuring cup off for some/all of that period – I’m very agak-agak).

However, I’ve come to realise that most people simply fry it on a stovetop after adding water and oil – which takes about the same amount of time (say, ~30 mins) – something their busy lives may not afford them.

So just before I left for Malaysia, I decided to replace the dried onions in these packs with fried shallots. Since the shallots are already (commercially) pre-fried, it reduces the cooking time to 5 minutes.

Either way, this is how it should look when done –

I don’t know about you, but I personally prefer the dried onion original, so after giving it some more thought, I’ve decided to make two separate versions –

1. One that says “ORIGINAL RECIPE” and “best for cooking in a Thermomix”. You can order it here – https://shop.jackiem.com.au/products/handcrafted-dry-sambal-belacan-kit-original
2. And one that says “5-MINUTE RECIPE”. You can order that here – https://shop.jackiem.com.au/products/handcrafted-sambal-belacan-kit-5-min

If you’ve bought/eaten my freshly-made sambal belacan at my Concord Hospital Market, that version uses fried shallots.

So if you like it (and many of you do – I keep selling out on market day) – then stick to Version 2 when you buy my Handcrafted Dry Sambal Belacan kits. It’ll taste like my Concord Hospital Market sambal, and it’ll only take you 5 minutes to whip up.

However, if you like these messages I received in the last couple of weeks referencing Version 1 (and you don’t mind cooking it longer, or you can do it in a Thermomix), I would suggest you get that instead –

(Customer 1) –
“Jackie, I have just made the samba belachan and it’s the best I have ever tasted. I will be coming up in September and may I order 6 pkts.”

(Customer 2) –
“I cooked up a packet of sambal belacan last night. Used some to fry with sotong and ate some with plain hot rice. So good! My son tried it for the first time yesterday and loved it so much that I had to bottle up the rest of the sambal belacan for him to take back with him to Canberra this morning.”

By the way, I use the Sambal Belacan almost exclusively as a dip to serve with my meals, but you could also use it to cook other dishes, like in this example here when I decided to add it to fried eggplant –

Finally, if you’ve never seen my Handcrafted Dry Curry Paste kits before, here’s a photo of what they look like –

Hit me up if you have any questions.

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