Especially for those Malaysians who stay in overseas
Written by Mrs. Money
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_dehydrator
It was a memorable May afternoon, I went with my eldest sister to an outskirt teak store looking for furniture along a beach. After we emerged from the shop I saw so many Malays lined up to buy something, excitedly and full of curiousity I dragged along my eldest sister to see what the hawker was selling. "They are waiting to buy small shrimps!" With my four inches high heel I was a head taller than everyone, I turned my head to inform my sister waiting under a tree. I expressed my interest, soon those Malay women one after another began to give me all their secrets of how to make good belacan from No. 1 to 10!
"Thank you so much Mat chit, without you all, today Money Tai Tai still don't know how to make good belacan!" I was so grateful of those friendly Malays women, good cooks always willing to share their secrets when meeting their own species!
When I talked to the hawker in my army days trained spoken Malay, he immediately spoken to me in Mandarin, and he gave more shrimps than what my sister paid. “What a surprise to see a Chinese here wanting to make belacan?!” That’s his wordless expression but they were all very keen and encouraging, my sister and I bid them farewell to these nice and kind country folks.
"Goodbye, hope to see you here next year!” But I was not certain that I would return there as I already moved to Kuching secretly for a month by then.
Homemade belacan is very clean, not as smelly and it is pinky color. I done by myself alone, while my eldest sister just watching it as she paid for the krill, she wanted a share but didn't want to let her hands getting fishy!
I remember I learned how to make it on 21st May, 2008. I was pestering the krill on a mortar while watching the Taiwanese’ presidential election result, however my belacan already done (in two hours only) but still didn’t know its final result, only three hours later someone told me Ma won the election.
Ingredients:
Small shrimps (seasonal krill) and salt (if you are in overseas, you can try to use very small shrimps)
Procedure:
Wash the small krill with salted water
Dry the cleaned krill with paper towel, or use a muslin cloth to squeeze the excess water (Thanks to my mom, this was taught by my mom, she is a bad chef but time to time she is very sensible mom!)
Pestle the krill with a mortar and add any amount of salt you want all depend on how salty you want your belacan ends up! (Never use the blender as the result will not be successful)
Keep pestering until the krill become very fine and paste-like
Dry the paste under the very hot sun (with a net covering the top of a metal container) or dry the paste in a food dryer dehydrator
Taper the dried paste into the shape you prefer, wrap with aluminum folder pack tightly in a plastic container, store in freezer.
Note: If you want smelly (fragrant) belacan, then don’t dry it so quick, after dried up by the dehydrator for two hours (not too dry in this case) then leave the paste out under the hot sun for another 2 to 3 days until it turns smelly before you taper the paste into shape and store!
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