Dendeng & Sambal by Khairulaming

If you're a regular shopper at Shopee, you'd probably know Khairulaming's brand of Dendeng Nyet Berapi and Sambal Nyet Berapi.  If not, you would have probably read about this popular food entrepreneur and influencer in the papers recently about shutting down both his factories in Kelantan for 5 days to take all his 100 staff for an all expenses paid vacation to Penang (what a nice boss!).

Formerly an oil & gas engineer (popularly known as KA), his first product (launched in 2021) was the Sambal Nyet Berapi which retails for RM14 for a 180g bottle.

He followed that up with his second product, Dendeng Nyet Berapi, 3 years later.  Both his products have raked in millions of ringgit in sales where he was famously known to have sold RM1 million worth of dendeng in under 4 minutes.

And it was this very Dendeng Nyet Berapi that first attracted me to his products.  I'm actually not familiar as to what dendeng is initially but from the picture on the packaging it looked something like a darker version of rendang daging.  On googling, it's described as a classic dark and oily dish of tender beef marinated in herbs and spices.

Since I absolutely love beef rendang, it's a no-brainer that I should get some to try.  It retails for RM15 for a 180g packet of ready-to-eat dendeng daging.  Well, who doesn't like ready-made food which just requires you to pour out the contents into a bowl!  But they do recommend that you soak the package in hot water for a couple of minutes for better aroma and taste or just to warm it up a little.  Those who are weary of reheating it this way can pour out the contents and reheat it in a pan/wok (the conventional way) or microwave it (I wouldn't recommend steaming it though since food that's steamed tends to release water which would compromise its taste).  For those who have no qualms about eating it direct from the package, you can also do so.

It makes one of the most appetising meals I've had at home this year.  All I need is a fried egg (some may need two)...preferably with an oozy egg yolk on hot/warm rice.  The dendeng on its own is lightly sweet and spicy even thought its name has the word berapi in it (which indicates that it's fiery) but certainly a spice level that many can take.  The sweetness is probably contributed by the kicap manis (sweet soy) in the sauce.

The dendeng daging turned out to be absolutely delicious!  You get tender shreds of beef (like the mouthfeel of pulled pork) and some small chunks of beef that's immensely tender and savoury.  It's so good!! ^.^

For those who need to up the spice level, add on a dollop of Sambal Nyet Berapi (and this one is true to its name, it's really fiery all right).  So spicy that you can't really taste the flavours of the sambal (but sweet it isn't)...and I can only tolerate one teaspoon of it!  I've since made use of the sambal to cook prawns and squid too (by adding lots of sauteed sliced shallots and some dark soy or kicap manis).  I think it will be a good addition when frying up some fried rice or mee goreng as well.  I just wish it wasn't as spicy so that I can use more of it.

Even if the sambal leaves a burning sensation in my mouth, it's still an ideal accompaniment eaten with the dendeng.  As with all sambals, you'd find a good layer of oil on top, so just give it a good stir before scooping out the sambal.

Get a bit of sambal, a bit of dendeng and a bit of egg...and it's a sumptuous bite in one mouthful (or handful).  Eating it the traditional way with hands heightens the pleasure even further, if you ask me.  I don't know what is it with Malay rice and sambal that when eaten with hands, it's twice as enjoyable...lol!

If you're too lazy to even fry an egg, have it with a hard-boiled egg or salted egg instead and if you happen to have some crunchy cucumbers in the fridge, why not?

You know what, it's so delicious I can eat two portions of dendeng with two portions of rice...but no, I've to restrain myself. >_<

Or turn it into a nasi lemak with santan-infused rice (plain rice will do too) complemented by crispy ikan bilis, hard-boiled eggs and cucumber.

One 180g packet of Dendeng Nyet Berapi yields maybe 6 tablespoons of dendeng which is good enough for 3 meals (for me lah), for others the portion is more realistically shared by two or possibly just one meal for some.

I'm not sure if I'll buy the Sambal Nyet Berapi again coz the spice level is too much for me but yet the taste is a lot more exciting with it even if it sets my mouth on fire...even if the heat is quite intolerable for me (those who love spicy will do well with this one)! :D  But I'm 100% sure I'd buy the Dendeng Nyet Berapi and I've since restocked another 4 packets in my pantry for rainy days (when I can't go out to eat) and emergencies (when I've nothing to cook or don't feel like cooking) coz not only is it super convenient, it's super delicious too! ^_~

P/S: And no, this is not a paid post (but just sharing something that's delish) nor did I receive free dendeng and sambal from KA.....lol (I wish)!!