About this component
The tart, savory dipping sauce that makes Brunei's ambuyat come alive — the glue-like sago staple is neutral, so the cacah of fermented shrimp, tamarind, chile and lime provides all the flavor. The pairing is inseparable.
Component facts
- Yield
- About 1 cup (240 ml)
- Prep
- 15 minutes
- Heat
- Medium
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp (10 g) shrimp paste (belacan), toasted
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) tamarind concentrate
- 4 chiles, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp (30 ml) lime juice
- 1 tsp (5 g) sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) water
- Salt to taste
Method
- Toast the belacan until fragrant.
- Pound or blend chiles and garlic with the belacan.
- Stir in tamarind, lime juice, sugar and water to a spoonable sauce.
- Season with salt; adjust sour and heat.
Notes from the book
- Balancing
- Sharply sour and savory to animate the neutral sago; keep it punchy.
- Substitutions
- Extra fish sauce for belacan (less depth); adjust tamarind for sourness.
- Storage and food safety
- Refrigerate up to 5 days. Contains shellfish (belacan).
Pairs with in this book
The Complete Edition
Cacah (Ambuyat Dipping Sauce) sits in the foundations
The book carries this component alongside the other twenty-three, the twenty-seven pantry studies, and the Brunei chapter it belongs to.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.