About this recipe
Sambal is a family of chilli relishes running to hundreds of members across Indonesia; this is one of the most widely made. What distinguishes sambal terasi from a plain chilli paste is terasi, the dense fermented shrimp paste, toasted before pounding so it gives depth rather than rawness. It is not the same as sambal oelek, which is chilli and salt alone.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- About 1 cup (240 ml)
- Prep
- 15 minutes
- Cook
- 10 minutes
- Total
- 25 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Spice
- Hot
Allergens Contains shellfish (terasi). Gluten-free. Dairy-free. Not vegetarian.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
- 12 red chillies, mixed long red and bird's eye to taste
- 5 shallots, peeled
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp (10 g) terasi (Indonesian shrimp paste)
- 2 ripe tomatoes, about 7 oz (200 g), quartered
- 1 tbsp (15 g) palm sugar
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt, or to taste
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) neutral oil
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) lime juice, to finish
Equipment
- Mortar and pestle (cobek) or small food processor
- Small frying pan
- Foil
Method
- Toast the terasi in foil in a dry pan, 2 minutes a side. Unwrap and crumble.
- Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Fry the chillies, shallots and garlic until blistered and softened, 4–5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and cook 3 minutes more, until they collapse and release their liquid.
- Tip everything into a mortar or processor with the crumbled terasi, palm sugar and salt.
- Pound or pulse to a coarse paste — sambal terasi should stay rough and textured, not smooth.
- Return the paste to the pan with the remaining 1 tbsp oil and fry over medium heat 4–5 minutes, stirring, until it darkens and the oil separates at the edges.
- Take off the heat, stir in the lime juice, and taste for salt and sugar.
- Cool to room temperature before serving; the flavour settles as it cools.
The Complete Edition
Sambal Terasi sits in the Indonesia chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Indonesia chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.