The Secret to Perfect Dried Shrimp Sambal – Authentique Restaurant, Ipoh (Perak Food Secrets 1)
Many enthusiasts, especially those who live outside of Malaysia, find Malaysian sambals a bit too complex and time-consuming to tackle, so they fall back onto commercially-available options. During our Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC) collaboration with Tourism Perak in January 2026, we had the opportunity to engage with local chefs, hawkers and restaurateurs to uncover the secrets to Malaysian cooking, beyond what you find in cookbooks.
In this first stop, we visited Authentique Restaurant, which is a semi-formal dining destination in Ipoh with a unique twist – it, along with its sister bakery in the same building (Bake N Take), is staffed by culinary students from Perak’s Shen Jai Education Group (incorporating Kompass International College and Shen Jai TVET College). The aim is to give the next generation of chefs the opportunity to gain real-world experience before they graduate.
I was told beforehand that the staff, led by Chef Azzam, were both excited and very nervous about serving Masters of Malaysian Cuisine chefs which included MasterChef Malaysia judge Johari Edrus and President of the Professional Culinaire Association of Melaka, Rizwandy Perin – but they needn’t have worried, because we really enjoyed the food.
Our MOMC group (including some culinary tour guests from Australia) were served a three-course meal consisting of:
– Laksa Nyonya with Sambal Udang Kering (dried shrimp sambal)
– Nasi Lemak with Ayam Berempah (spicy fried chicken)
– Carrot Cake
At the end of the meal, Chef Azzam demonstrated how to make the Sambal Udang Kering (Dried Shrimp Sambal) that accompanied the Laksa we ate, which he explained is a Master Sauce that can be used not just as a side dip, but also in stir-fries, and tweaked for use as a filling in pulut panggang, etc. The secret to its long shelf-life is to cook it until the oil separates (note that the recipe does not contain shallots or onions, which helps keep the moisture level low).
Here’s the 9-minute video on how to make Sambal Udang Kering, with the recipe below –
Sambal Udang Kering by Authentique Restaurant, Ipoh
INGREDIENTS:
- 50g belacan (shrimp paste)
- 100g sugar
- 100g garlic, finely blended
- 150g dried shrimp, rinsed and finely blended
- 100g dried chillies, soaked with hot water, then drained & finely blended
- Chicken stock powder to taste
- Salt to taste
- 150g oil or as needed
METHOD:
- Place garlic, dried shrimp, chillies and some oil in a non-stick frying pan and saute the ingredients until lightly aromatic.
- Add sugar and belacan and continue cooking, adding more oil as it’s absorbed into the mixture.
- Continue cooking until the oil separates and the sambal is caramelised. Add chicken stock powder and salt to taste.
- Mix well and remove from heat. Store in jars; keep refrigerated until use.
The recipe for this along with all others from our Perak trip can be found in Issue # 25 of our Truly Malaysian by MOMC digital magazine, which you can download for free here, with two different cover options:
Cover 1 (Kopitiam coffee cup) – Click to View or Download
Cover 2 (Ipoh Kai Si Hor Fun noodles) – Clicke to View or Download
