Ah , sambal petai hae bee is a dish you cannot really find in hawker stalls or restaurants .
It was the true blue Penangite who grew up in a household blessed with women who can actually cook who introduced this dish to muah .
Others who were as fortunate as he will go soft at the mere mention of this combo which is regarded as " strange " or " rare " in other states .
The dried shrimps have got to be at it's freshest and most finest state before being pounded to a fine fluff .
Of course today , we use a blender instead of that tile shattering pestle pounder .
Dried shrimp blended to a pulp .... check .
Dried pre soaked red chillies ground up ....check.
Peel the petais and halve them ....checked .
Scoop out half a tablespoon of assam jawa with salt and sugar set one side ....check .
Slice one small sized red onion ...check
Notice that I don't use belacan at all , contrary to what most online posters advise , because there's really no need to , especially when I know where to get superior grade har mai ( hae bee ) or dried shrimps which smells as sweet as if it were just lifted out from the ocean's sunbed .
The recipe is a 2 step process .
Step 1 .
Fry the blended dried chilies first till a red oil slick paste forms , take it out of the wok and fry the hae bee on a low fire till fragrant , then add the paste back in for colour as well as to spice up the flavour .
Absolutely no salt or sugar needed either at this stage .
This can be eaten with white bread or steamed white rice on its own .
Step 2 .
In a clean wok , I fry some sliced onions together with the petai , then add on sugar to taste . Lift it up again and discard the liquid .
Quick fry Step 1 , then add in Step 2 and walla ....what you should get is hae bee in that orangey red natural colour above .
By the time you get to Step 2 , this dish has become a snack for you to pinch from everytime you walk into the kitchen . And believe me , it is quite addictive , so you will want to find many reasons to get your lazy arse up just to reach under the tudung saji for yet another fix .
You can eat this with rice if you want , but honestly pinching nibbles is way more fun !
Consequently , stuffing a portion into a small jar allows you to take it anywhere and not stay rooted near the kitchen door forever haha .
Location : Penang
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