Roasted red pepper and shrimp paste sauce

My friend Liqa hosted me the other day and provided me with a homemade Malaysian sambal with egg and coconut rice dish that was delish (Thanks Liqa!). It reminded me of this other dish that I use to make with tofu and vegetables and so I thought I would share it here.

printable recipe

 

 Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbs coconut oil
• 1 jar roasted red bell peppers
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 Tbs lemongrass (minced)
• 3 Tbs shrimp paste
• 2 Tbs fish sauce
• 3 Tbs honey
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs lemon juice (optional) 

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, add coconut oil and saute onions until soften. Add garlic and saute.
2. Transfer the oil, onion and garlic into blender. Add roasted red bell pepper and blend.
3. Return to saucepan and let simmer. Add shrimp paste, fish sauce, honey and salt. Let simmer and thicken. 
4. Remove from pan and add lemon juice (optional)

Ideas on how to serve and store

• The sauce should keep for a few days in fridge. You can also freeze in zip lock bag for later use.
•  I like sauteing vegetables and then adding the sauce and eating it with warm rice. Additionally, I found this sauce to work well with fish or chicken as a topping sauce.
• If you like a little spicier sauce, when you are sauteing the onion and garlic, add some red chili peppers (or dry chilies soak in hot water for 30 mins and remove stem and seeds)