Fried Tilapia with Sambal Belacan Sauce(Spicy Shrimp Paste Sauce)

One of my mom special and simple home cook dish is fried mackerel fish(Ikan Kembung or Selar) with fresh sambal belacan as dipping sauce.I recalled when I was young and lived at home ,my mom always cook this simple meal for us..I always look forward for sambal belacan sauce whenever my mom cooked fried fish..Without the sambal belacan as the dipping sauce the fried fish is just a simple plain dish for me. I know we can get Calamansi everywhere in Asian but here in US especially East coast this plant is almost non exist..maybe if I live in California,I will able to find calamansi plant at major garden center.Of course, I still can find calamansi in juice or in frozen form..But the juice has been process and not suitable to use as fresh juice with sambal belacan..Anyway,no calamansi juice is still alright,I still can replace it with fresh lime or lemon.Lime is relatively cheap around summer time.I always make a larger portion of sambal belacan for storage,so whenever I need something to dip sambal sauce, I just scope out the portion in sauce plate and squeeze in lime juice.Viola!! This sambal combine with fried fish is just heavenly delicious..words can't describe it!!

Ingredients:

1 fresh tilapia,clean,remove scale and gills,cut into 1/2 with head attached
1 tbsp salt
4 tbsp rice flour + 4 tbsp APF
soy sauce to taste
1/2 canola oil


Sambal Belacan Sauce :

10 fresh hot long red chili (I mixed with some green chili)

10 bird or Thai chili
2 tbsp toasted belacan(dry shrimp paste)
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 calamasi or lime to squeeze

Method:
Sambal Belacan Sauce:
1: Wash and drain red long pepper,cut into 2 inch each. Add toasted belacan(don't toast until too dry),red long pepper,salt and sugar in blender.Grind with blender..Or use mortar and pestle to crush all the ingredients until smooth fine.

2:Remove the paste from blender and store in a air tight container.Scoop the necessary portion into a sauce plate,squeeze lime or calamansi,mix well.
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Fish:
1:Heat skillet with oil at medium heat..Rub fish with salt thoroughly and coated with flour mix.Shake the excess flour before place on the skillet.When skillet is red hot,place coated fish on and fried both side until golden crisp brown.
2:Remove fish from skillet to a plate,sprinkle some soy sauce on it before serve warm with sambal belacan sauce.