Kam Heong Sauce Recipe
“Kam Heong”, or “Golden Fragrance” in Cantonese, is a super aromatic and umami-filled dish. Uniquely Malaysian, it carries the perfect blend of spices and seasonings from Malay, Chinese and Indian cuisine. Often used as a sauce or gravy for local seafood such as crabs, prawns and shellfish (called “Lala”), its distinct fragrance and lightly spicy taste make it very difficult to forget.
This recipe makes the Kam Heong sauce or paste in advance that can be used to cook with various types of meat (like chicken or pork), and seafood. Simply cook the meat and stir in the sauce until cooked and well combined. Stay tuned for some of my upcoming recipes using this sauce!
This recipe makes 16 servings of Kam Heong sauce.
Ingredients
Garlic, peeled, washed and minced finely. It is used for the aroma and taste for the Kam Heong Sauce. I added them all to the food processor for ease of mincing.
Shallot, peeled, washed and minced finely. It adds a lovely aroma, chunkiness and sweetness to the sauce. I minced them with a food processor to shorten the preparation time.
Bird’s Eyes Chilli, washed and sliced thinly. It brightens up the sauce with its brilliant red colour, and adds a spicy kick to the sauce, making it appetising. The amount can be reduced to 1-2 pieces if less spicy is preferred.
Dried shrimps/ prawns, washed briefly in hot water before straining them and frying in hot oil to impart some of its umami flavours to the oil. It is then minced finely, and added at the end to thicken and add more chunkiness to the Kam Heong sauce.
Unscented cooking oil is used to prevent the oil’s strong flavour and aroma from interfering with the Kam Heong’s flavour and fragrance profile. I used a blend of canola and sunflower oil for this recipe.
Sugar, to mellow the saltiness and spiciness of the Kam Heong sauce.
Salt, to enhance the taste of the mixed herbs.
Coarse black pepper for additional fragrance and light spice. If ground black pepper is used, reduce the amount to 1/4 tsp.
Curry Powder adds most of the fragrance of the Kam Heong sauce. It’s a blend of aromatic spices that adds to the flavour. I recommend “Watch” brand (picture below), which can also be used to make Thai Pineapple Fried Rice, for an accurate fragrance. Another substitute would be the “S&B curry powder“.
Sesame oil, which adds to the fragrance.
Thick Soy Sauce, makes the sauce quite dark and appetising.
Oyster Sauce adds some umami-ness to the sauce.
Water, to dilute the sauce while it cooks to reduce the likelihood of it burning.
Curry Leaves give out a strong, appetising curry-like fragrance when fried.
Steps
Here are the brief steps to make this ready-made, easy Kam Heong Sauce:
- Prepare all the ingredients.
- Mince or process the garlic and shallots.
- Chop the chilli.
- Wash the dried prawns and drain all the liquid.
- Fry the dried prawns for 2 minutes, or until cooked.
- Chop the dried prawns into smaller chunks and set aside.
- Fry the garlic and shallots for 1 minute.
- Stir in the cut chilli, sugar, salt, black pepper, curry powder, sesame oil, oyster sauce and thick soy sauce.
- Add water and curry leaves, and fry for 2 minutes.
- Taste and adjust.
- Stir in the chopped prawns.
- Let it cool before dividing it into smaller batches.
Tips
- Using a food processor shortens the preparation time as it minces the garlic and shallots very well. I do not recommend using a blender as the pieces would be too fine and smashed.
- For a less spicy version, use 1-2 pieces of red bird’s eye chilli. This sauce should be a little spicy, as the kick adds to the flavour.
- Give the dried prawns 2-3 quick stirs in hot water to remove most of the preservatives. Soaking them for too long makes them lose too much flavour and umami-ness.
- I recommend using the Watch brand for the curry powder. Other brands may have a slightly different fragrance and texture.
- If curry leaves are not available, they can be omitted, as no other leaves give the same fragrance as curry leaves.
- Ensure the sauce has cooled completely before storing in smaller containers.
- Watch the video to see exactly how I made it.
Storage Instructions
Once completely cooled, it can be kept in the fridge for 1 week in an air-tight container, or in the freezer for 10 to 12 weeks.
I recommend storing the Kam Heong paste in smaller containers, enough for a dish per container. That way, the whole container can be used, and we do not need to thaw and re-freeze the rest of the sauce.
Recipes You Might Like
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- Simple Stir Fried Minced Pork with Choy Sum
- Cauliflower Omelette Recipe
- Delicious and Simple Kam Heong Chicken Recipe
- Spicy Stir Fry Kam Heong Lala Recipe
- Kam Heong Prawns
Ready-Made Kam Heong Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Food Processor
- Strainer
- Chopping Board
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Frying Pan
- Turner
Ingredients
- 100 g garlic, peeled & minced
- 300 g shallots, peeled & minced
- 15 g bird's eye chillies, washed
- 50 g dried prawns, washed in hot water
- 75 ml cooking oil, unscented
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp coarse black pepper, substitute with 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp curry powder, Watch brand curry powder
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tbsp thick soy sauce
- 150 ml water
- 3 stem curry leaves, stripped from the stems
- 1/4 tsp salt, optional
- 50 ml water, optional
Instructions
- Mince the garlic into small chunks for about 6 seconds in the food processor. Remove and set aside. Repeat with the shallots. Remove and set aside.
- Chop the bird's eye chillies and set aside.
- Wash the dried prawns in hot water for 3 seconds and strain them.
- Heat the oil in the pan for about 30 seconds. Fry the washed prawns until very fragrant and well-cooked. Switch off the heat and remove them from the pan. Mince until very fine and set aside.
- Switch on the heat. Fry the minced garlic and shallots for about 1 minute, or until evenly coated with oil.
- Spread the garlic and shallots evenly. Stir in the cut chilli, sugar, salt, black pepper, curry powder, sesame oil, oyster sauce, and thick soy sauce for 2 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly dry.
- Add 150ml of water. Strip curry leaves from the stems and add to the pan. Stir for another 2 minutes until slightly dried and thickened.
- Taste and adjust as preferred. I added 1/4 tsp of salt, which is optional.
- Add 50ml of water and stir until well-mixed, for about 1 minute.
- Add the chopped cooked prawns and mix until well-combined.
- Taste and adjust once more.
- Switch off the heat and let it cool completely for about 2 hours.
- Once cooled, divide it into smaller portions and store in air-tight containers in the fridge for 1 week, or 10 to 12 weeks in the freezer.
Video
Notes
- Using a food processor shortens the preparation time as it minces the garlic and shallots very well. I do not recommend using a blender as the pieces would be too fine and smashed.
- For a less spicy version, use 1-2 pieces of red bird’s eye chilli. This sauce should be a little spicy, as the kick adds to the flavour.
- Give the dried prawns 2-3 quick stirs in hot water to remove most of the preservatives. Soaking them for too long makes them lose too much flavour and umami-ness.
- I recommend using the Watch brand for the curry powder. Other brands may have a slightly different fragrance and texture.
- If curry leaves are not available, they can be omitted, as no other leaves give the same fragrance as curry leaves.
- Ensure the sauce has cooled completely before storing in smaller containers.
- The Kam Heong sauce can last for about 1 week in the fridge, and about 10 to 12 weeks frozen in the freezer.
- Watch the video to see exactly how I made it.