Spicy Dried Shrimp (aka Hae Bee Hiam)

I'm still messed up by the flu with the fever torching my eyes and baking my bones. I didn't cook/bake today but I still have many food items I haven't manage to post, so I've decided to do a short post on an extremely useful necessity.

Spicy Dried Shrimp, commonly known as "Hae Bee Hiam" (loosely translated to Shrimp Rice Spicy) amongst the locals, is one condiment many households cannot do without. It is what is inside those tiny, insatiable Spicy Dried Shrimp Rolls that once you start, you can't stop until you end up with a sore throat. I always add a spoonful to my fried rice/noodles for an extra spicy, flavorful kick. They will get you to down another bowl of rice on its own or like me, I just eat them with bread!

There isn't a lot of ingredients involved but the process is slightly torturous and tedious. Therefore, I suggest doubling or even tripling the recipe to prepare a large batch for storage.

Spicy Dried Shrimp
(Please credit if you've enjoyed it. Thank you!) 

200g     Dried Shrimp (weight is before soaking)
   20g     Garlic, minced (about 5-6 cloves)
 200g     Sambal
Salt & Sugar to taste

Doesn't matter if the sambal is home made or store bought although there's always greater control in home made items.

1. Soak the Dried Shrimps for about 20-30 minutes, dry the shrimps as much as you can and have it coarsely minced for chunky style so you will get the occasional burst of shrimpy goodness when eating.

2.  Heat a tablespoon of oil over Medium heat and sautéed garlic till fragrant. Add in the minced shrimp and continue frying till the whole kitchen is filled with the aroma of fried shrimp. The minced shrimp will shrivel slightly and darken in colour. Another tell-tale sign is that some of the smaller pieces will start jumping about the wok.

3. Add in the Sambal, mix with the minced shrimp and keep the mixture moving constantly to prevent burning (I burnt mine a little as I tried to take pictures... -.-). Season to taste. Like every other time, the chilli will assault your eyes and nose. Keep your kitchen well-ventilated at this stage. Heat off when most moisture has been removed.

4. Cool completely before storing in a sterilized container. Or serve immediately with a bowl of porridge!

All blog posts and photos are properties of WhatToBakeToday (unless otherwise stated). Unauthorized use and/or duplication of these contents, whole or part thereof, without express or written permission from this blog's author is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to WhatToBakeToday with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.