Sambal Pasta with Prawns
This sambal pasta with prawns (or sambal shrimp pasta) is a fusion pasta. It came about when I was craving for something spicy, and I saw my bottle of belacan chilli sitting in the fridge. This dish always satisfies my craving for spicy food, and is extra gratifying when accompanied with an ice cold beer.
See Also:
Using frozen peeled & de-veined prawns in the freezer + fast-cooking angel hair pasta + store-bought sambal belacan, this dish can be whipped up in under 30 minutes. STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS
The ingredients & quantity shown below are for 1 person.
First, cook angel hair in a pot of boiling salted water (taking 30 seconds off the recommended cooking time for al dente). Reserve a cup of pasta water and drain the noodles. You can mix the cooked noodles with some olive oil to prevent them from drying out and sticking.
This is the supermarket bottle of belacan chilli I used for this recipe (you can use any brand). Warning: This brand is very hot. If you don’t take much spicy food, I recommend you halve the belacan chilli while doubling the ketchup in this recipe.
This is the base of the sambal sauce. It consists of light soy sauce, sambal chilli and tomato ketchup.
Add hot pasta water and stir well to form a smooth paste.
Heat olive oil in a wok pan, cook shrimps until they just turn opaque. Don’t overcook as they are returning to the pan later. Set aside on a plate.
To the remaining oil in wok, add shallots, garlic, chilli and butter. Cook until shallots are transparent.
Add sambal sauce and bring to a bubble.
Add cooked noodles to the sambal sauce, and mix until the noodles are evenly coated in the sauce. Then return the cooked prawns and add a handful of baby spinach.
Cook and toss quickly until the baby spinach is just wilted. Add a few spoonfuls of pasta water to bind everything together. If you want it even more saucy than mine, you can add more pasta water or chicken/prawn stock. That’s it! I usually eat straight from the pan…
… or you plate it & garnish with some coriander. Don’t forget to squeeze lime juice over before eating.
Sambal Pasta with Prawns Recipe
Different brands of sambal belacan chilli varies in the heat level. Adjust the amount used accordingly to your preference.
Ingredients:
- 1 serving (about 50 grams) angel hair (or any fave pasta)
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 8 prawns shelled & deveined; patted dry on paper towels
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 shallots sliced thinly
- 1 chilli padi (deseeded) or 1/2 finger-length red chilli sliced thinly
- 10 grams unsalted butter
- a handful baby spinach leaves washed and spinned dry
- sea salt
(A) Sambal Pasta Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp (10 grams) sambal belacan chilli to taste
- 1/2 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp hot pasta water (may substitute with prawn or chicken stock)s
Suggested Garnishes
- 1 small lime halved
- fresh coriander
- freshly cracked black pepper
Directions:
- Cook pasta. In a pot of water, add 1 tsp sea salt. Bring to a boil and add pasta. Cook until al dente (minus 30 seconds for angel hair, and 2 minutes off for spaghetti from the package recommendation cooking time). Set aside a cup of pasta water before draining the noodles.
- Make the sambal sauce. In a small bowl, mix ingredients at (A) to form a smooth paste.
- Cook prawns. Heat wokpan with oil. Add prawn and stir-fry quickly until they just turn opaque (do not overcook). Set aside the cooked prawns on a plate.
- Make pasta & serve. Add garlic, shallots, red chilli and butter to the remaining oil in the wok. Cook until the shallots are translucent, then add prepared sambal sauce. Let the sauce bubble, then toss in the cooked pasta. Stir-fry quickly so that the noodles are well coated in the sambal paste. Lastly, add cooked prawns and baby spinach. Stir fry for 30 seconds more or until the spinach is just wilted. Add some more pasta water as required to bind all the ingredients together. Garnish with lime, coriander and freshly cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.