Chicky Belacan Chicky

I thought it was really about time that I post this dish up before I forget how to cook it, so here you are, a dish that I made...about a week ago or maybe even more! Haha It is not very often that my housemates agree to spend a bit of fortune on extra sauces and ingredients for cooking, and it was during this rare opportunity that I managed to chuck a packet of Belacan (Made in Malaysia!) into the shopping basket, all thanks to Randwick Oriental's special discounts! Those who are wondering what discount is that can message me and I'd be glad to tell you how to get those discounts...

Anyway, with the cheaky (chicky) title and the short story introduction, I believe everyone should know that there is no big secret to this dish, basically Belacan (or dried shrimp paste) is the main ingredient, and our beloved Penang back in Malaysia is one the places that comes out with loads of this kind of product. There are two types of shrimp paste in the market (at least the ones from Malaysia that I know), one is in a dry form while the other is literally in paste (liquid) form, both of which are dark brown or black in colour and have a very intense (some say smelly) aroma when sniffed, and even stronger when being cooked!


Ingredients:
500g chicken breast (sliced to fillet size, can have more if desired)
5tbsp water diluted Belacan (about 1/8 of a packed dried Belacan, dilute with warm water bit by bit)
1 carrot (thinly sliced)
1 brown onion (finely chopped, feel free to use red ones also)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
3 slices ginger (about 1cm, finely chopped)
3pc dried chilie (soaked in water and finely chopped)
corn starch, salt and pepper, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar.


Method:
1. Marinate the chicken breast fillets with a dash of salt, pepper, light and dark soy sauce, corn starch, dark soy sauce, Chinese shaoxing cooking wine, and lastly sesame oil (do not add too much cooking wine and sesame oil otherwise the taste will contradict the belacan flavours). Leave to rest for about 15 minutes.
2. Brown the chopped onions using a dry-clean frying pan (add in a dash of salt and sugar, fry lightly before adding oil to further saute). Bring the oil to its peak heat, add in dried chili, chopped ginger and garlic, lightly fry for a minute or two until fragrant, add in sliced chicken breast fillets.
3. Stir fry for about 3-5 minutes, while the fillets still present slight pink-ish, add in diluted belacan at this point, continue to stir fry for until all fillets are thoroughly cooked (adding water ocassionally when almost drying up). Bring stir fry ingredients to a boil, add additional sugar, salt and pepper to taste if necessary. Done. Serve hot with heaps of rice.