Sambal Oelek: What It Is, Heat, Uses and Recipe
Sambal oelek is a hot Indonesian chili paste made from fresh red chilies, salt and usually a little vinegar. It tastes of chili and little else, with no sugar and no garlic, and serves as a base for other sambals or to add heat to rice, noodle and wok dishes.
Fact sheet
- Also known as
- Sambal Ulek, Sambal Oelek, Chilipaste, indonesische Chilipaste
- Origin
- Indonesien
- Taste
- scharf, frisch nach roter Chili, salzig, leicht säuerlich
- Substitute
- frische Chilis mit Salz und Essig, eingeweichte Chiliflocken, zur Not Sriracha
- Storage
- nach dem Öffnen im Kühlschrank, mehrere Monate; selbst gemacht etwa eine Woche
- Where to buy
- Asia-Regal oder Saucenregal im Supermarkt, Asialaden, online
What the name means
“Sambal” is the word in Indonesia and Malaysia for all chili sauces and chili pastes, from raw and pounded to long-fried. “Oelek” is the old Dutch spelling of “ulek”. The word refers to the pounding: Indonesian cooks grind the chilies with a pestle, the ulekan, on a flat stone mortar, the cobek. Today Indonesians write “sambal ulek”. The Dutch spelling has held on in Europe because the paste reached Europe by way of the Netherlands.
Flavor and heat
Sambal oelek tastes of fresh red chili, salty and slightly sour. The heat depends on the chilies and varies from jar to jar. The paste is coarse, and seeds and bits of skin stay visible. Start with half a teaspoon and work up.
Similar pastes sit side by side on the shelf. Here is how to place them:
| Paste | Origin | Main ingredients | Flavor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sambal oelek | Indonesia | chili, salt, vinegar | pure, hot, slightly sour |
| Sriracha | Thailand | chili, garlic, sugar, vinegar | smooth, sweetish, garlicky |
| Gochujang | Korea | chili, glutinous rice, soybeans, fermented | sweet, deep, mildly hot |
| Harissa | North Africa | chili, garlic, cumin, caraway, oil | spicy, smoky |
You can read more about the Korean paste under Gochujang.
Other sambals
Sambal oelek is the simplest form. Many variations have developed from it and alongside it:
- Sambal terasi or sambal belacan: with roasted shrimp paste, strong and salty, for example with the Malaysian Ulam-ulaman. These sambals contain crustaceans.
- Sambal kecap: chili with sweet soy sauce, shallots and lime, a dip like the one with Tahu goreng.
- Balado: fried chili and tomato paste from West Sumatra, for example for Terong balado or Udang balado.
- Sambal matah: raw, from Bali, with shallots, chili and lemongrass.
Uses in the kitchen
Sambal oelek brings heat without bending the flavor of a dish. So you can use the paste in many ways:
- Fried rice and noodles: In Nasi goreng, Mie goreng or Bami goreng you fry a teaspoon with garlic and shallots before the rice or noodles go into the wok.
- Quick sambal: Fry 2 tbsp sambal oelek with a chopped shallot and a garlic clove in oil for a few minutes and season with a pinch of sugar. That gives a round, fried sambal as a side.
- Marinades and dips: With soy sauce, lime juice and a little honey for grilled meat, with mayonnaise for fries or fried tofu.
- Outside Asia: A spoonful in tomato sauce, scrambled eggs or goulash replaces fresh chilies.
Making sambal oelek yourself
For a small jar you need 250 g red chilies, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar. Long red chilies give medium heat; with a few bird's-eye chilies it gets hotter.
- Put on gloves. Wash and dry the chilies and cut off the stems. For less heat, remove some of the seeds.
- Roughly chop the chilies and crush them with the salt in a mortar or a mini chopper to a coarse paste. Seeds and bits may stay visible.
- Stir in the vinegar. It keeps the color and keeps the paste fresh longer. You can read more about the vinegar under Rice vinegar.
- Fill into a clean jar, smooth the top and close.
Homemade sambal oelek keeps in the refrigerator for about a week. A thin layer of oil on top protects it from drying out.
Substitutes for sambal oelek
- Fresh chilies: Finely chopped with a pinch of salt and a splash of vinegar or lime, they come closest to the original.
- Chili flakes: Soak in a little hot water for 10 minutes, then stir with salt and vinegar.
- Sriracha: works as a stopgap, but brings sugar and garlic.
Buying and storing
You find sambal oelek in most supermarkets in the Asian aisle or with the sauces. An Asian grocery store has larger jars and more sambals, and online you can also get sambal terasi and sambal matah. Classic sambal oelek contains none of the major allergens, but with other sambals check the label for crustaceans, fish or soy.
Once opened, the jar belongs in the refrigerator, where it keeps for several months. Always take the paste out with a clean spoon. If it turns darker and brownish over time, that is oxidation and harmless as long as no mold shows.