Let's Berulam Mangga~

Uwaaaaaaaaaa.. it's embarrassing to talk about food again.. But there's one Sarawak culture , particular in Bintulu that I'm excited to talk about..

Most of Malaysia loves "belacan" or shrimp paste, and every states in Malaysia have different style of "sambal"made of belacan.. When I was in Penang , the sambal was slightly watery with a bit of shallot and lots of cili padi or bird chilies.. which is very hot.. The sambal can be eaten alone with rice which was kinda strange for me at first seeing that in my hometown , sambal belacan was considered as a dipping for various kind of veggies and sometimes fruit.. Okay , at my part of the city (and I believe in others at Sarawak too) , when mangoes season start booming , it is time for "ulam mangga".. What it is exactly : Sambal Belacan : I usually made a simple one (coz I'm lazy) which consist of a tiny bit of belacan (about 2cm) coz I don't want the taste too overwhelming , some cili padi (2 or 3) , sugar and a bit of kicap manis (sweet soy sauce) .. To make it , pound belacan , cili padi and sugar together until it forms a paste (using mortar or if you haven't got any , just use a blender) Take out the paste and place in a bowl .. Add some sweet soy sauce and tadah!! Your sambal belacan is ready..

Your fruit of choice : People always used unripe mango 'coz it goes well with the sweet and spicy sambal.. But you can use whatever fruit you fancy like unripe papaya and all.. The reason I believe for people to choose unripe fruit is because of its texture (crunchy) and the sourness which gives it balance to the sambal : Spicy - sweet and sour.. ;-) Sometimes , me and my sister would use asam paya which is very common in Sarawak.. (can't find it anywhere in Semenanjung Malaysia but I believe some part may have it) and it's very,very sour..

This is "asam paya" (credits to lalaupenemu.blogspot.com)

And this is ulam mangga.. Believe me , despite the sourness , I can finish this all by myself..

But , there are some people who dislike belacan , like my father.. :-D Ironically he's originally from Bintulu and Bintulu is a city where bintulu's belacan is so well known throughout Sarawak.. My sister always tease my father into eating belacan .. :-D hehehehe.. But , belacan could be considered as an acquired taste.. Like natto in Japan , or marmite in UK..