Sambal Belacan Substitutes

Sambal Belacan is a staple of South East Asian cooking. If you can't find it where you live, here are the best sambal belacan substitutes- I used these myself when living in London!

There are many different types of sambal- sambal belacan which is a chili with belacan (shrimp fermented shrimp), sambal oelek (a fresh red sambal that is basically chili and vinegar- click through for the recipe), sambal hijau ( a green sambal) etc

Sambal belacan has a depth of flavour thanks to the fermented shrimp in it, so the best alternatives should have the same flavour notes, which we can create by mixing in something like oyster sauce or fish sauce.

It can be served as a side sauce for many Singaporean recipes (e.g. with laksa, Hokkien mee etc) or used as part of a cooking sauce.

Do NOT use a sambal belacan substitute that does not have the fermented seafood notes, or the resulting flavor will be very flat. Someone did this when preparing laksa for a cookbook club in the UK that I was part of, and the laksa tasted... well, not the best.

Here's my list of the best sambal belacan substitutes:

1. DIY sambal belacan sauce: pound red chillies- a mixture of fresh and dry- with garlics and shallots (or onions, if you can't get the former) then fry with toasted shrimp powder and a lot of oil till fragrant, the colour deepens and the oil separates. Replace in a 1:1 ratio.
2. Chilli paste: Mix this with some fish sauce and sugar. You can use as is if in a hurry, or stir fry the mixture to make it more similar to sambal belacan goreng. Replace in a 1:1 ratio.
3. Nam Phrik Pao: this Thai chilli sauce is made from red chilli flakes cooked with garlic, sugar, fish sauce, shrimp and other ingredients. The fish sauce and shrimp give it a similar funkiness to sambal belacan and you can replace in a 1:1 ratio.
4. Red Chili flakes/ chilli powder- mix with a fermented sauce such as oyster sauce and tomato paste.
5. Gochujang chili paste: this hot chili paste is a Korean fermented chilli which has recently become a popular condiment in the West (it goes very well in meat dishes!) It doesn't contain seafood, so mixing it with some anchovies (or fish sauce) will help, although the final product will taste different. It's also quite concentrated, so you may not need to use as much. Only use this substitute if desperate, and be prepared for a very fusion tasting dish!! I would, for example, use it in my sambal chicken recipe but NOT when making laksa.

Any questions about replacing sambal belacan? Let me know in the comments!