Cencaluk is a Melakan food made of fermented small shrimps. It is usually served as a condiment together with chillis, shallots and lime juice.
Belacan, a Malay variety of shrimp paste, is prepared from fresh tiny shrimp of a species known as 'geragau' in Malay. They are mashed into a paste and buried for several months. The fermented shrimp are then dug up, fried and hard-pressed into cakes. Belacan is used as an ingredient in many dishes, or eaten on its own with rice. A common preparation is sambal belacan, made by mixing belacan with chilli peppers, minced garlic, shallot paste and sugar and then fried.
