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.
Available from Amazon
- Kindle edition — $9.99 (Kindle Store price) — available now
- Paperback — $49.99 (print list price) — available now