Name: Prawn sambal
Total time: 40 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 1 tbsp ground turmeric; 1½ tsp ground coriander; ¾ tsp ground cumin; 3 tbsp flavourless oil; 5cm ginger, finely chopped; 285g sambal tumis, (recipe below); 3 tbsp tomato ketchup; 200ml coconut milk; 2 stalks lemongrass, halved and bruised; 4 makrut lime leaves; ⅛ tsp ground white pepper; ½ lemon; 4 hard-boiled eggs; 1-2 tomatoes, thinly sliced; ½ cucumber, thinly sliced; 10 dried red chillies, or dried chilli flakes 2 tbsp; 200g onions, roughly chopped; 2 cloves garlic; 8 red chillies, roughly chopped; 200ml flavourless oil; 1 stalk lemongrass, halved and bruised; 1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar; 1 tbsp tamarind paste; 1 tbsp shrimp paste

A bowl filled with boiled eggs, sliced cucumber and prawns in a chilli sauce

1 tbsp ground turmeric
1½ tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp flavourless oil
5cm ginger
finely chopped
285g sambal tumis
(recipe below)
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
200ml coconut milk
2 stalks lemongrass
halved and bruised
4 makrut lime leaves
⅛ tsp ground white pepper
½ lemon
4 hard-boiled eggs
1-2 tomatoes
thinly sliced
½ cucumber
thinly sliced

SAMBAL TUMIS

10 dried red chillies
or dried chilli flakes 2 tbsp
200g onions
roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
8 red chillies
roughly chopped
200ml flavourless oil
1 stalk lemongrass
halved and bruised
1 tbsp soft dark brown sugar
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp shrimp paste

Method

step 1
To make the sambal, soak the dried red chillies or chilli flakes in just enough just-boiled water to cover. Leave for 15 minutes then drain. Blitz the onions, garlic, chillies and rehydrated dried chillies to a smooth paste. Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over a medium heat. Stir-fry the onion mixture and lemongrass for 10 minutes, stirring often – make sure your windows are open as the chillies will start to smoke!
step 2
Add the sugar, tamarind and shrimp paste. Continue stir-frying for 5 minutes until fragrant and the oil separates. Remove the lemongrass and it is ready for use. To make the prawns, mix the ground spices with 2 tbsp of water. In a medium pan, warm the oil over a medium heat then stir-fry the ginger and ground spices for 1 minute. Add 200ml of water, 1 tsp of salt, the sambal tumis, ketchup, coconut milk, lemongrass, lime leaves and white pepper, and bring to the boil over a low-medium heat. Turn off the heat as soon as it comes to the boil and leave for at least 1 hour for the flavours to fully develop.
step 3
Just before you want to eat, reheat the sauce and, once it starts to steam and bubbles appear at the sides, add the prawns and stir-fry over a medium heat for 3 minutes before tipping out into a large serving bowl. Squeeze over the lemon juice before serving with the egg halves, tomatoes and cucumber slices around the dish.