Sunday 13 June 2021

Lockdown Day #13 : Kangkung Shrimp Sauce

A few months ago I bought a bottle of Lee Kum Kee's Fine Shrimp Sauce. I was curious because this is a sauce version of belacan.


As usual, whatever I buy always sits in my pantry and sometimes they expire even before I have had the chance to use them.

Then Choi Yen posted her recipe for Stir Fried Spinach with Shrimp Paste and that prompted me to finally open up my bottle of shrimp sauce. I took a sniff and eeks! it was very, very pungent. I feel that it is smellier (since it is in wet form) than belacan (which I think is aromatic especially when toasted). 

The smell if I am to describe it in Hokkien is "au long", which is stronger than pungent, i.e. putrid. But whatever, since I already bought it, I was determined to use it and not to waste. Incidentally, not too long ago I bought a bottle of cincaluk for purpose of making kimchi.

When I opened the bottle cap, the contents gushed out (like champagne), all bubbly and stinky. The smell, oh my God, was nauseating. Suffice to say, I tossed the whole bottle (making sure to wrap it up securely) and swore never to buy cincaluk ever again.


I defrosted a tub of my ready made sambal and during my grocery run, I bought a bundle of kangkung. Back home, I trimmed the kangkung and gave it a good wash. That was when I recalled why I stopped buying kangkung - it so dirty, full of grit and grime. The organic ones are cleaner but more expensive.

To cook, I heated some oil in the wok and sauteed the rempah together with about a teaspoon of the shrimp paste. I'm afraid I disliked the smell but as the rempah and shrimp paste cooked further, the pungent smell mellowed and became acceptable.


Then I added the kangkung stems (I tenderized them by pressing them between my fingers first) followed by the leaves and stir fried until the kangkung was wilted. I did not add any water, preferring to let the vegetable cook in its own moisture.

My fried kangkung turned out delicious and I have no regrets buying the shrimp sauce. I might try some other recipes using this sauce. 


This omelette was part of lunch. I know the shape is funny because my omelettes never turn out in a perfect circle.


I also steamed one chicken leg which was seasoned with light soy sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce.


So that was lunch today.


Early this morning Ah Girl went outside right after breakfast but Belle Belle stayed inside. She happily lepak-lepak on Ah Girl's favorite rugs.


I can't wait to use my sambal and the shrimp sauce to cook other vegetables like sweet potato leaves, lady's fingers and brinjals.


16 comments:

  1. Oh? We always cook using fresh udang kering sambal, maybe I should give this a try and see since it got your nod of approval. Looks good.

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    1. I usually use either belacan or udang kering and sometimes both for extra oomph!

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  2. Wah, the way you describe the pungent smell make it sounds like it is more pungent than Chao tofu and blue cheese. But after cooking, it is delicious then it is worth suffering all the pungent smell to get delicious food. Girl and Belle did not smell the pungent smell because they are outside the house, right?

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    1. Yes, both were outside. They might like the smell. LOL!

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  3. We usually order Sambal Kangkong whenever we go eat at Chinese restaurant, otherwise it would be sambal potato leaves.

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    1. I love those two veggies but since my partner can't take too much chilies, we normally have it ching chao.

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  4. I dislike cincaluk or anything tht smell nauseating like stinky tofu. Sambal is ok. Shrimp paste i never try before so i m not sure if i can stand the smell.

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    1. Hmm..it is stinky, so maybe you won't like it.

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  5. I never try this Lee Kum Kee sauce before. Looked good on your kangkung. I usually fry with garlic, try to cut down on dried shrimp intake. Sometimes I cook my kangkung with pig's blood. Tasty too. Learnt this recipe last year.

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    1. This is the first time I heard of kangkung cooked with pig's blood! I sometimes just fry with garlic and salt. Also nice like that.

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  6. Glad that the sambal belacan kangkung turned out delicious and you like it. You may try the steamed pork belly recipe that I shared if you like to use up a bit of your bottle of shrimp paste. Ar..I miss this dish and going to cook it again soon. :)

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    1. I intend to try the pork belly dish but have to buy pork belly first. My stock ran put. LOL!

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  7. Since you described the shrimp paste as stinky (does it taste exactly like belacan after cooking?), I wonder if I'd like it...but kangkung fried with sambal is a must for me! ;) Cooked plain, no-one in my family wants to eat that...hee..hee. P/S: Belle says: Now that Girl's not around, let me destroy her favourite rugs...*evil (cat) laughter*! :D

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    1. It does not taste exactly like belacan but it is nice. Let me have a few more go with this sauce so that I can form a better opinion.

      hah..hah.. Belle Belle like to invade Girl's spot!

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  8. Oh, I must get this shrimp sauce, Nancy has already recommended me to get one... and I couldn't find it in my area here... Yes, it definitely makes the dish more tasty and omppphhh-ful...

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    1. I hope you are OK with the strong smell hah...hah..

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