ojak – Malaysian Spicy Fruit Salad and

Sambal Belacan
APPETIZER & SNACK, DESSERT, FRUIT, SOUTHEAST ASIAN
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Rojak, a Malaysian Spicy Fruit Salad with a mix of flavors and textures unlike any other.
It is spicy, sweet, salty, tangy, soft, and crunchy. A must try!

In every language there are always some unique words that convey highly expressive
notions about food and cultural nuances all at once. In the Malay language, rojak fulfills
this down to a T. Blessed with an abundance of tropical fruits and vegetables, Malaysians
often take a variety of ingredients and mix them together into a tasty salad called Rojak.
In the mind of the locals, rojak has taken upon the meaning of diverse elements and even
polar opposites being blended together. As such to describe anything as rojak is to imply
a jumbled mix.

The cut-fruit stall is a popular lunch time fixture where Rojak can sometimes be found.
The vendor will chop up his fruits and mix it with the sweet and spicy sauce. Prior to the
advent of plastic bags, it was once common for Rojak to be served up in a newsprint
cone lined with banana leaves. A few bamboo skewers were included for spearing the
pieces of fruit. This is the most basic form of Rojak. Specialized Rojak vendors have
more elaborate ingredients that include fried tofu and crispy shrimp fritters to provide a
contrast of textures and flavors.
The sweet and spicy sauce is what makes the fruit salad a Rojak. One can almost
describe the taste as umami. The ingredients include Sambal Belacan (pounded shrimp
paste and chili condiment), hei ko (sweet shrimp paste), sweet sauce, caramel soy sauce,
and sugar. Hei ko is a very important ingredient, without which it will not have that thick
caramel consistency. On this side of the world, it would be similar to a spicy chocolate
sauce or mole. In fact, I made a Spicy Chocolate Rojak sometime back using extra dark
chocolate as a substitute.
World on a Plate
Today is the last Sunday of the month and it is time for World on a Plate. This month’s
theme “Fruity Dessert” was agreed upon way back in May and the first thing that came to
my mind was Rojak. I was really excited as I knew I would be able to get hei ko this time
since I had a scheduled visit to Malaysia in June. Although I have not seen hei ko being
sold here in my neighborhood in recent times, it is available in the larger Asian grocery
stores downtown and especially the ones on both coasts. I have purchased it once or twice
in the past.