Sambal Belacan

Name: Sambal Belacan
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 4 oz red chilies, seeded; 1 tbsp belacan (shrimp paste); 0.25 tsp salt; 1.25 tsp sugar; 2 tbsp calamansi lime juice (or lime juice)

A quintessential Malaysian chili condiment made by pounding fresh red chilies with toasted belacan (shrimp paste), then balancing it with salt, sugar, and tangy calamansi lime juice.

15 min 4 servingsRasa Malaysia Source

Extracted by chinwei271Extracted 1 Jul 2026

Nutrition· per serving · estimated

Calories

Protein

Carbs

Fat

Scale recipe

4 servings

Original recipe

Ingredients5 items

Produce

🌶️red chilies, seeded4 oz

🍋calamansi lime juice (or lime juice)2 tbsp

Seafood

🦐belacan (shrimp paste)1 tbsp

Pantry

🍬sugar1¼ tsp

Spices

🧂salt¼ tsp

Instructions

1
Rinse the red chilies under running water.
2
Seed the chilies and thinly slice them; for extra heat, toss in a few bird's eye chilies here too.
3
Transfer the sliced chilies to a mortar.
4
Heat a wok or pan over low heat.
5
Add the belacan to the dry pan and toast until aromatic, dry, and powdery — this is the doneness cue that it's ready.
6
Transfer the toasted belacan into the mortar with the chilies.
7
Pound the chilies and belacan with the pestle until fine, or leave it slightly coarse if you prefer a chunkier texture. No mortar and pestle? A mini food processor works too.
8
Transfer the pounded mixture to a bowl.
9
Season with salt and sugar to taste.
10
Add the calamansi lime juice (or lime juice) and blend well until fully combined.
11
Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of days, or freeze for longer storage.

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CuisineMalaysian