SAMBAL HAIR BEE

My Aunt Linda had a craving for Dried Shrimp Sambal or Sambal Hair Bee in the Hokkien Dialect.  My mum who had not cooked this dish since I was studying in England from 1993 - 1995 was persuaded to do so by her sister.  My mum used to cook the dish and then put it into a big container for me to bring back to Bristol so that I could enjoy Nyonya food. 
I am happy to say that my mum hadn't lost her touch and her Sambal Hair Bee turned out the way she used to make it many years ago.  My maternal side of the family are Straits Born Babas and Nyonyas and so I have grown up enjoying Peranakan Food from young.  Between my mum and Aunt Linda, the former learnt more dishes from the ancestors than the latter.

Want to try making the dish?  Here is the recipe.

DRIED SHRIMP SAM BAL (SAMBAL HAIR BEE)

500 grammes of dried shrimps (Hair Bee as it is called in Hokkien)
8 red onions
Chilli boh (quantity according to taste, about 3tbsp)
4 stalks of lemon grass (serai)
1 big piece fresh kunyit (or 1 tbsp of turmeric powder)
Daun limau purut (Kaffir lime leaves) – finely sliced
Tamarind juice (add a bit of water)
Sugar
Salt to taste
Oil

Instructions
1.  Soak dried shrimp.
2.  Then pound coarsely.
3.  Blend onion, serai and kunyit (pounding it is better).
4.  Heat oil in a non-stick pan.
5.  Add blended onion, chillies, leaves and fry till dry.
6.  Add the dried shrimp and continue frying.
7.  You need to constantly stir it so they will not stick to the pan.
8.  Add tamarind juice and sugar.
9.  Continue stirring until the whole paste is dried.

TADA ... the sambal hair bee is ready to be served with rice.