Sambal Cuttlefish Balls

Having made a big batch of sambal tumis, I have to put it to good use. This is a really easy way of cooking with sambal: deep-fried cuttlefish (sotong) balls slathered in the spicy sambal sauce.

See Also:

• Sambal Tumis Recipe
• Sambal Eggs Recipe
• Sambal Belacan Recipe

You can replace cuttlefish balls with regular fish balls. With the ikan bilis powder I used to season the dish, the sambal chilli tastes just like nasi lemak chilli. It goes so well with white rice … totally sedap!

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Sambal Fish Balls Recipe

You can season the sambal sauce with either salt, fish sauce or home-made ikan bilis powder. Adjust the amount of water to achieve the desired sauce consistency.

Serves: 2-3

Prep Time: 5 mins

Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 8 cuttlefish or fish balls
• vegetable oil for deep frying
• 1/2 red onion cut to rough wedges
• water optional

(A) Sambal Sauce

• 1 heaped tbsp sambal tumis
• 1 tbsp home-made ikan bilis powder or 1/4 tsp salt or fish sauce; to taste
  
• assam (tamarind) solution dissolve 15 grams assam pulp in 1/2 cup water; solution strained
• 1/4 tsp chilli powder for extra heat; to taste
• 1/2 tsp granulated gula melaka or regular sugar to taste

Directions:

1. Heat cooking oil in a pot. Add cuttlefish balls and deep-fry until light golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towels or tempura paper.
2. Add (A) to a wok. Bring to a quick simmer and season to taste.
3. Add onions and stir fry briefly until just softened. Add water if you prefer a more watery sauce. Turn off the heat and add the cooked balls to the wok, coating them evenly in the sambal sauce.

Ingredients Used: assam • chilli powder • ikan bilis powder • sambal tumis • sugar