Ingredients:
6 fresh red chilies, cut to small pieces
5 dried red chilies, soaked to soften and deseed
16shallots, peeled and cut to small pieces
5 cloves garlic, peeled and cut to small piece
2 stalks lemongrass (just the tender white parts), chopped coarsely
1 tbsp sautéed shrimp paste (belacan) - can toast the belacan in a oven toaster salt & sugar to taste
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1/4 cup water
cooking oil
Method:
Blend the fresh red chilies, dried red chilies, shallots, garlic and chopped lemongrass into a smooth paste.
Add the water to the tamarind paste. Squeeze to extract the tamarind juice, discarding the seeds.
Heat up the wok with cooking oil over a medium heat.
Add in the blended ingredients, shrimp paste (belacan), salt and sugar and fry until aromatic and slightly browned (about 7 - 8minutes).
Add in the tamarind juice next and continue to stir fry for another 8 minutes until the color darkens a little further and the mixture gets slightly drier.
Dish out and set aside to let cool