Prawn sambal? Hei bee hiam??? What is that? For those who like to know more, please see my previous post.
This is another interesting version of dried prawn sambal / hei bee hiam that I have cooked. The addition of kaffir lime leaves has made this hei bee hiam extra fragrant and very special. My husband likes this version much more than the lemongrass one, saying that the lemongrass one is too fibrous for him to chew... or maybe his jaw muscle is growing a little bit old... LOL!
This is kaffir lime dried prawn sambal recipe originates from the book, Tea Time Delights: The Best of Singapore Recipes by Mrs Leong Yee Soo. Mrs Leong is also the same author that wrote the lemongrass hei bee hiam recipe that I have cooked previously but this version is quite different from the lemongrass one. This kaffir lime one contains no candlenut, belacan, tumeric and green chillies and the original recipe is kind of confusing and complicated using two different chilli pastes. No offense but I guess the nyonya ladies in the past like to make chilli pastes and like to make many versions of chilli pastes... LOL! Making chillies paste is definitely not my hobby... and so I have adapted this recipe into a simpler one and it works perfectly well for me. Hurray!!!
To enjoy this hei bee hiam to the fullest, I have baked a nice enriched white loaf to eat with it. This straightforward loaf is very light, soft, simple and amazingly good when I baked it at my first attempt but unfortunately this time, I might have slightly over-baked slightly. Nevertheless, the combination of this nostalgic indulgence is still heavenly good.
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Before proceeding on this recipe, I like to summarize Cook like a Star (all-stars Anniversary) and Little Thumbs Up (Prawns) that happened in March 2014.First of all, I like to emphasize Cook like a Star (all-stars Anniversary) is still on-going until end of April 2014. So, please continue cooking your favorite stars' recipes and link your post with us.
For Little Thumbs Up (Prawns), we have a a total of 54* entries linking with us. Despite that I'm allergy to fresh prawns and Moon from Food Playground has been busy and not feeling well for this whole month, I have managed to contribute 4 prawn-related posts adding on to this amazing total number. I have to say that Doreen, Moon and I appreciate all your participation. Thumbs up to all prawns lovers! ... and also the non-fresh-prawn-eating me!!!
You might wonder what happen after I consume and contact fresh prawns... I will look puffer fish with Angelina Jolie's lips. Not very sexy combination, isn't it? - LOL! My wrist will swell like pig trotters and can't wear any watch or jewelry. No worries at all as I wasn't harmed at all for this month LTU. I'm ok!
* - will update the total number at the end of today.
Kaffir Lime Dried Prawn Sambal / Hei Bee Hiam Served with Enriched White Loaf
This is the first time that I baked this bread...
Very soft and beautiful...
... and so, I baked it again and a bigger loaf this time.
I baked it for extra 5 mins but might have over-baked it :p Nevertheless, it is still good to eat.
To make kaffir lime hei bee hiam, we need to harvest some kaffir lime leaves first from our garden.
Finely ground dried prawns... Smell fishy but I promise you that it tastes really good when it is cooked.
A simplified chilli paste that I made
A little spicy smell here... cough cough!
The tamarind that I used.... My boy laughed seeing this version of tambourine!
Add kaffir lime. Fry a while...
... and this hei bee hiam is ready to eat!
Here are the recipes:
Kaffir Lime Chili Prawn Sambal mostly adapted from the book, Tea Time Delights: The Best of Singapore Recipes by Leong Yee Soo
(with my notes in blue)
Makes 4-5 cups, loosely packed
Ingredients
For the chilli paste:
1 large red onion1 garlic clove
20 dried chillies
3 large fresh chillies or 2 large fresh chillies plus 5 small extra-hot chillies
20ml coconut milk
2 tbsp cooking oil (original was 4 tbsp)
chilli paste
55ml thick coconut milk
(I used Ayam regular coconut milk)
2 tbsp tamarind puree
3 tbsp sugar
200g dried prawns, very finely ground
20 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purui), sliced very finely
Heat cooking oil in a saucepan and fry chilli paste until fragrant. Stir in coconut milk over moderate heat and cook for 1 min. Add tamarind puree, sugar and dried prawns and stir over low heat until mixture is fragrant and almost dry. Add the lime leaves and cook it slightly until the leaves are slight wilted. Transfer to a tray to cool. Serve with plain rice or bread whenever you like.
Tip: Hei Bee Hiam can be kept for months if stored in a refrigerator.
Enriched White Loaf from the book, Bread Machine Easy by Sara Lewis(with my modification in blue)
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp butter, at room temperature
200ml milk (replace with same volume of water plus 20g milk powder)
1 tsp salt
475g strong white flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp fast action dried yeast
Life the bread pan out of the bread machine and fit the kneader blade. Add the whole egg, egg yolk, butter, milk and salt. Spoon in the flour, make a slight dip in the center and add the sugar and yeast.
Insert the pan into the bread machine. Shut the lid and set to a 750g (1 1/2 lb) loaf on a basic white setting with preferred crust setting. Press start.
3. At the end of the programme, life the pan out of the machine using oven gloves. Loosen the bread with a plastic spatula, turn it out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.
Using 2/3 of the recipe, I've made this bread with a 10 cm x 20 cm loaf pan for my first bake. The ingredients were added into a bread machine as according to step 1 and "dough" setting was used to mix and prove the bread dough. After its first prove, I shaped it into a loaf for a second proving of 1 hr in a loaf pan. The loaf was brushed with milk and was baked at 170°C fan forced for 25 mins.
Subsequently, I've made this loaf again using the full amount of the recipe and a 11 cm x 21 cm loaf pan. The loaf was brushed with milk before baking and was baked at 170°C fan forced for 30 mins but I reckon baking it at 25 mins might be enough.
Happy Baking and Cooking
This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs up organised by Doreen from my little favorite DIY and me, Bake for Happy Kids, hosted by Moon from Food Playground at this post.
The Little Thumbs Up event starts on first Tuesday of the month until the last day of the month. Please join us! To join, simply cook or bake any recipe with the theme of the month which is PRAWN for March 2014 and link with us at this post. anytime until 31st March 2014.
Don't forget your thumbs up or display this badge! And make sure that: (1) Your post must be a current post preferably within this month. (2) Please mention Little Thumbs Up in your post and link back to Bake for Happy Kids, my little favorite DIY or/and Moon from Food Playground. For more details, please see this.
What after March 2014? Ann from Anncoo Journal will be the next hostess of April 2014 and her theme is ORANGE! Guess what? Tomorrow is the first Tuesday of April 2014... Are you ready for lots of orange cooking / baking? I am.