Stir fry 3 kinds of beans and prawns with sambal belachan - Featured in Group Recipes

I remember when I cook sambal belachan the first time in the little apartment in California fifteen years back, my hubby asked me what is that pungent smell. I told him is belachan (shrimp paste). I believed this pungent smell is very similar to the pungent smell of blue cheese to me.  It is strange how different cultures perceive food. The following dish is a sambal belachan dish with all my favorite ingredients.  I do not know if petai is available in certain countries but if it is not, you can omit it and the dish will still taste as good. 

Main Ingredients:

1 lb medium size shrimp or prawn, shelled and deveined.

8 pieces of French beans, cut into 1 ½ in long per piece

6 pieces of lady?s finger, cut into 1 ½ in long

1 cup petai

Ingredients for sambal belachan:

(A)

2 tb vegetable oil

15 shallot,peeled

10 red long chillies

5 cloves garlic

100 gm dried red chillies (soaked for 2 hours, you can add more if you like it more spicy)

1 ts salt

2 tbsp belacan, fried and mashed

Ingredients for seasoning:

(B)

2 tbsp tamarind powder

5-6 tbsp sugar or to taste

salt to taste

1/2 cup water (add more if necessary)

Method:

Blend (A) in blender or pound until fine. Heat wok with oil and add blended sambal belachan and stir fry for 10 minutes. Add petai, French beans and ladies finger and stir fry till the beans looks darker green, about 5 mins. Add prawns and (B) and stir fry another 10 minutes or until shrimp is cooked but not overdone. Serve with plain white rice.