belacan

i know i have my supply of belacan some where in the kitchen cabinet but never bother to look for it, until yesterday. it was in wrapped in few bahai bags and packed in a plastic container. i think i bought it a year or two ago. hope it is still ok. it looks ok to me and man! the smell of it. have to polish my sambal belacan making skill soon. may have to toast it outside on the grill though. or else i'll stink up the whole house.

the reason why i am looking for it is because i wanted to make ikan bakar using banana leaves. and yes, they do sell them here. i am trying to follow the recipe from internet. i made the spice paste but it doesn't sound like the way we make it back home. couldn't find of any better fish to use so i picked salmon. meant to grill it outside yesterday but it was raining so i have to do today. the chinese supermarket didn't have galanga so i decided to use powder galanga i have at the house. too lazy to walk to the bangladeshi supermarket to find galanga. oh and i decided to use crushed chillies instead of dried chillies. again just couldn't be bothered to walk over to the indian store. i also bought dried shrimp. haven't had this for years. will add it to my fried rice the next time i make some.

Spice Paste
1 clove garlic

3 shallots

6 dried chillies

1 tablespoon of turmeric powder

1/4 teaspoon of toasted belacan

2 inches of lemon grass (white part only)

1 inch of galangal1/4 teaspoon sugar1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon of

tablespoon of lemon juice

Method:
Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, blend the spice paste.
Clean the fish and pat dry. Coat the fish with the spice paste evenly and wrap it with banana leaves. Use toothpicks to hold the banana leaves so the fish is wrapped tightly. Leave the parcel in the refrigerator and marinate overnight.
Heat up your grill and grill the fish parcel for 5 minutes on each site (or until the banana leaves are burnt).