SAMBAL "UDANG" ("SHRIMP" CHILI PASTE)

Val, my awsome Malaysian vegan friend, brought a dish she called sambal to our house one day. We really liked it. It has a spicy 'sea' taste that I love. This dish remind me of sambal udang or shrimp chili paste that I used to eat before I became a vegan. Growing up near the sea, I used to eat seafood all the time. I can't help trying to make a recipe based on Val's dish. It is really good. Adding dulse granules and nori flakes gave the dish the 'seafood' flavor. I used dry ground TVP instead of fake shrimps since I don't really like texture the fake shrimps unless they are cut into small pieces. Any green vegetables can be added to this dish, if you like. This dish is great with steamed rice and to accompany other non-spicy Indonesian dishes.

Servings: 8

2 cups dry ground TVP
1 tbsp low-salt 'chicken' broth powder or seasonings
1 tbsp dulse granules
2 tsp canola oil
1 large Nori sheet, cut into small pieces or flakes
2 tsp brown sugar or sugar
3 tbsp Tamarind water
1 tsp Salt or 1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt or to taste, optional

Sambal Ingredients:6 cloves garlic
6 cloves shallots/ 1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
3 dry red chilies, stemmed, seeded
1 large dry California or New Mexico Chili, stemmed, seeded
Tips: the use of California or New Mexico chili reduces the heat/spicyness of the dish. If you don't like hot and spicy food, you can replace the 3 dry red chilies with a New Mexico chili. The dish will be red and looks hot but it won't be.

1. Soak the ground TVP in a 1 3/4 cup warm water to reconstitute it. Add 1 tbsp. dulse granules and 'chicken' broth powder, mix it well. Set aside for at least 20 minutes while you are preparing the other ingredients.
2. Soak dry chilies in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Use a mini food processor, grind garlic, shallots, ginger, and chilies(sambal ingredients) into a paste. Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle to pound the sambal ingredients into a paste.
3. Preheat wok into a high heat. Lower heat to medium, add canola oil. Stir fry sambal paste in oil for 5 minutes.


4. Add soaked TVP ground mixture. Mix well for 1 minute. Add nori flakes, brown sugar or sugar, tamarind water or lemon juice, and vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce. Mix well for 5 minutes. Taste for saltiness and add salt if necessary.
   
   
   Nutrition Facts:Nutrition (per serving): 283.9 calories; 6% calories from fat; 2.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 352.1mg sodium; 1070.1mg potassium; 57.2g carbohydrates; 0.3g fiber; 2.6g sugar; 56.9g net carbs; 14.7g protein; 5.8 points.