Sambal, oh my sambal

This is the 1st entry for the Food Inspired by People project. Every Monday for three months, I will post a dish that is inspired by a person. Today is Sambal inspired by my mom.

I remember the spicy and pungent aroma wafting through the house whenever my mom cooks sambal. It was pure bliss for me. According to her, even though sambal was too spicy for a young preschooler me, I would take a bite, drink a sip of water, take another bite, drink another sip of water and repeated that again and again.

Throughout my entire school life, a day rarely goes by without me buying a dish called Nasi Lemak which has sambal in it. During mealtimes at home, if I don’t see sambal on the dining table, I would head to the refrigerator, help myself with a spoonful or two of sambal and slab it onto my plate.

I eat sambal with everything. Seriously. EVERYTHING. I put it in my soup when I have noodles, stuff it in fish, stir fry anything I possibly can with sambal, and basically consume sambal in just about every meal.

Sambal is a traditional Southeast Asian condiment. It’s spicy, yet sweet. This version is fried (tumis in Malay). Its deliciousness comes from the frying of the chilies and the caramelizing of the onions. You probably have seen bottles of sambal olek sold in supermarkets. No, that is not this. Not even close. Sambal olek, however could be a substitute for the chilies in this recipe.

Sambal recipes vary. Every grandma, every mom or every household’s version is slightly different. My mom’s recipe comes from my great grandma. Milk definitely wasn’t a staple food in our home. Sambal was.

 

Also, if you haven’t done so already, check out my last post Classic Hummus. It’s healthy and delicious. This simple & classic recipe is perfect as a dip, side dish or spread for any meal. It’s definitely better than store bought ones.

To see all the delectable entries for the Food Inspired by People project, click here.

What is your perfect sambal recipe?

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Sambal       Makes about 3 – 3 1/2 cups sambal

what you need:

2 lb peeled onions and/or shallots
3/4 lb fresh red Fresno or Holland chilies with seeds, stems removed (deseed half)
1/2 – 2/3 cup palm, brown or coconut sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 – 1/3 cup oil

directions:

1. In a blender, add 1/4 cup water, onions and chilies. Blend until fine.

2. Over medium heat, add the oil in a skillet and fry the blended onions and chili paste for 15 minutes. It will start bubbling.

3.Turn the heat to medium low and fry the paste for another 20 minutes. As you fry, the paste will absorb the oil and turn to a darker red. Here, the chilies are being cooked, the onions are being caramelized and excess liquid is being evaporated. In the beginning, you only need to give it a stir every once in a while, but towards the end, you’ll need to stir it more frequently.

If it looks too dry before the end of the 30 minute mark, add a little more water, just enough to keep the paste moist. If it looks too wet, increase the heat to medium and continue to stir. Sambal is a personal thing. The consistency of the paste is up to you.

4. Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Taste and increase seasoning to your taste. Turn the heat off, dish out and let the sambal cool. Refrigerate or freeze if not using within 2-3 weeks.

Congratulations! You’ve just made sambal. I now love you and your sambal.

 

Notes:

Consistency:

If you want the sambal drier, fry longer. If you like it ‘wetter’, add some water.

Oil:

If you do not want to add that much oil, you can replace some with water instead. Water helps cook the sambal and helps the sambal not burn as it will become drier as you cook. The water will eventually evaporate and the result is still delicious sambal.

Onions and/or shallots:

1. You can make sambal using a mix of onions and shallots to give it depth in flavor. I’ve made sambal using just onions (without shallots) and it still tasted great! Traditionally, my family uses red onions but I’ve used just yellow onions as well. It’s your choice whether or not to mix in shallots. Buy shallots from Asian supermarkets as they carry the shorter variety.

Chilies:

1. The fresh chilies traditionally used is called Holland chilies. The closest substitute is red Fresno chilies.

2. Dried chilies can be mixed with fresh chilies to make sambal. They add a darker color, a more concentrated chili flavor than if using 100% fresh chili. Dried chilies do not have the fresh chili’s “fresh” taste to it. My mum rarely uses dried chilies and her sambal still tastes awesome. If mixing dried chilies with fresh chilies, deseed 15-20 dried chilies, soak them in hot water for 15 minutes and blend with the onions and fresh chilies. Remember to half the amount of fresh chilies.

Be careful about the type of dried chilies you add. I’ve used dried cayenne before and it was way too spicy to make sambal, even if they were deseeded.

Spiciness:

The level of heat for this recipe is relatively spicy. If you want it less spicy, deseed more of the chilies or increase the onions. To make it spicier, don’t deseed, add more chilies or decrease the amount of onions/shallots.

Add-ons:

1. Belacan (shrimp paste)

Not for the faint-hearted. If this is your first time making or eating sambal, I’d suggest opting out this ingredient. Belacan gives sambal a wonderful pungent and unique aroma and you, stinky clothes and a smelly apartment for a week. Grate 2-4 tbs of belacan, dry toast them in a pan and then fry them with the onions and chilies.

2. Garlic

This gives sambal a hint of garlicky/slightly pungent taste. This is not my common add-on but you can if you want to. Blend 8-10 garlic cloves along with the onions and chilies.

3. Candle nuts

This nut or its substitute, macadamia nut gives sambal a nuttier and creamier taste. Blend 12-16 nuts along with the onions and chilies.

4. Tamarind

This gives the sambal a sour tang. I usually add lime juice to my sambal after it’s cooked if I want it sour. I don’t make my entire batch sour because I like the sambal savory. If you like yours with a sourness to it, add 1/4 cup tamarind pulp after adding sugar and salt.

5. Lemongrass

This gives the sambal a little citrusy flavor. Blend 4-6 stalks using only the white parts of lemongrass along with the onions and chilies.

6. Anchovies

Ground fried anchovies can also be added into the sambal. Adjust the amount of salt if doing so.

Different chilies and onions with or without shallots make different color and texture sambal. Have fun experimenting.