Sambal: Types from Oelek to Matah with Basic Recipes
Sambal is the umbrella term for hot seasoning pastes and sauces based on chili from Indonesia and Malaysia. There are hundreds of types, pounded raw or fried in oil, with shrimp paste, shallots, tomato or lime, and at almost every meal at least one of them is on the table.
What makes a sambal
The base is fresh chilies, salt and usually shallots and garlic. Depending on the region, terasi (fermented shrimp paste, belacan in Malaysia), palm sugar, tomato, lime or tamarind are added. Traditionally, you grind everything in a cobek, a flat stone mortar, with a pestle called an ulekan. The mortar makes a coarse paste in which the ingredients release their aroma. A blender is faster, but you need a little oil or water, and the paste turns smoother.
You can tell two groups apart:
- Sambal mentah (raw): freshly pounded and eaten the same or the next day. Fresh, hot, juicy.
- Sambal masak (cooked): fried in oil until the paste turns dark red and the oil separates out. Rounder, sweeter and longer-lasting.
Wear gloves when cutting chilies and do not touch your face afterwards. Terasi contains crustaceans. For a vegetarian version, leave it out and salt a little more.
The types compared
| Sambal | Style | Main ingredients | Pairs with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sambal oelek | raw | red chilies, salt, vinegar or lime | everything, as a seasoning base |
| Sambal terasi / belacan | raw | red chilies, toasted shrimp paste, lime | rice, vegetables, fried food |
| Sambal matah | raw | shallots, lemongrass, chilies, coconut oil | fish, chicken, pork |
| Sambal ijo | cooked | green chilies, green tomatoes, shallots | rice, chicken, fish |
| Sambal bajak | cooked | red chilies, shallots, terasi, palm sugar | rice, tofu, tempeh |
| Sambal kecap | raw | kecap manis, chilies, shallots | fried food, satay |
Sambal oelek and sambal terasi
Sambal oelek is the simplest form and the base of many others. It consists almost only of chili and salt. Production, heat and substitutes are explained on its own page, sambal oelek.
Sambal terasi gets its strong flavor from toasted shrimp paste. A basic version for a small dish:
- Wrap 1 tsp terasi (about 5 g) in aluminum foil and toast it in a dry pan for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until it smells strong and turns crumbly. Air out the kitchen.
- Coarsely chop 8 red chilies (about 80 g) and 2 to 3 Thai chilies and pound them with 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar.
- Add the terasi and 1 tsp grated palm sugar and keep pounding until a coarse paste forms.
- Season with the juice of half a lime.
The Malaysian variant is called sambal belacan. You eat it with raw vegetables as in ulam-ulaman or stir-fry it with water spinach into kangkung belacan.
Sambal matah, ijo and bajak
Sambal matah comes from Bali and consists of raw, finely cut ingredients instead of a paste. Cut 8 shallots into fine rings, 2 stalks of lemongrass (only the pale inner part) into paper-thin slices, 4 to 6 Thai chilies into rings and 3 makrut lime leaves into fine strips. Add 1/2 tsp salt, if you like 1/2 tsp toasted terasi, and the juice of one lime. At the end, heat 3 tbsp coconut oil and pour it over. Eat sambal matah the same day, with grilled fish, chicken or babi guling.
Sambal ijo is the green sambal from Padang in Sumatra. It tastes milder and more sour than the red types. Steam 150 g long green chilies, 2 green tomatoes, 5 shallots and 3 garlic cloves for 5 minutes, until everything is soft. Pound the ingredients coarsely, since they should not turn to mush, and fry them in 5 tbsp oil for 5 minutes. Season with salt, a pinch of sugar and a little lime juice. Sambal ijo goes with nasi padang.
Sambal bajak from Java is a cooked sambal. Blend 150 g red chilies, 6 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tomato and 1 tsp terasi. Fry the paste with 2 makrut lime leaves and a slice of galangal in 100 ml oil over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, until it is dark red and the oil separates. At the end, stir in 2 tbsp palm sugar, 1 tsp tamarind paste and 1/2 tsp salt.
Sambal kecap and dishes with sambal
Sambal kecap comes together in a minute: 4 tbsp kecap manis, 2 to 3 Thai chilies in rings, 2 finely cut shallots and the juice of half a lime. It goes with satay, fried fish and tahu goreng, fried tofu.
Many dishes carry sambal in their name. In these, you cook the main ingredients directly in a fried chili paste:
- Sambal udang: shrimp in red chili paste with tamarind.
- Sambal goreng kentang: fried potato cubes, often with beef liver or peanuts.
- Sambal tempeh: crispy tempeh in a sweet-hot glaze.
- Terong balado: eggplant in balado, the red sambal from Padang.
Nasi lemak in Malaysia comes with a cooked, slightly sweet sambal with dried anchovies.
Shelf life
Raw sambals with shallots or lime keep one to two days in the fridge, and sambal matah tastes best on the first day. Fill cooked sambals such as bajak hot into a clean screw-top jar and cover the surface with a thin layer of oil. That way they keep about two weeks in the fridge. Take them out with a clean spoon. For longer storage, freeze cooked sambal in portions in ice cube trays.