@sambaesg is the hot new thing on the block with Chef Noel at the helm (and the grill). He’s another member of the young hawker generation, and he’s dishing out hot stuff in the form of his homemade sambal chili. The twist here is that he’s taken classic bbq sharing staples like sambal stingray, sambal sotong (squid) and sambal clams and turned it into individual serve ricebowls.⠀
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Of course, Sambae still does sharing portions of these classics, and this hefty nineteen dollar portion of Sambae Stingray is quite the stunner. Two fat fillets of stingray are utterly smothered in Sambae’s signature sambal and grilled on banana leaves. That’s it, it’s as simple as ABC. Despite the process being incredibly simple, this spicy stingray is rather complex.⠀
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While the sambal was a little more watery than I was expecting, it was still undeniably umami. I’m convinced that seafood stock & lots of fish bones went into the making of this scintillating sambal along with the usual suspects of chili padi & belachan paste. The slightly spicy sambal was intensely savoury, with a delectable depth to the saltiness. There’s also a little sweetness to it, an unusual but very welcome variation to the normal sambal.⠀
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Grilling the slabs of stingray on the banana leaf imparts a stronger smokiness to the fish, in addition to the sweet, heady aroma of banana leaf perfuming the fantastic fish. The flesh was, as expected, marvellously moist and every chunk of stingray was positively glistening with all that moisture. The perfectly grilled stingray is slightly briny, and is the perfect canvas for the sambal to turn into an edible work of art. This one’s for you, Steve Irwin. That’s right, the streets don’t forget.⠀
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I’d like to thank @sambaesg for setting up this tasting for my friend & I, this was truly a culinary gem to enjoy!⠀