Sambal From Indonesia

Sambal is a condiment that has a chili-based sauce. Sambals are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines, and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Netherlands and in Suriname, through Javanese influence.

Typically made from a variety of chili peppers, it is sometimes a substitute for fresh chilis and can be extremely spicy for the uninitiated. Some ready-made sambals are available at exotic food markets or gourmet departments in supermarkets in many countries. Secondary ingredients of sambals often include shrimp paste and/or fish sauce, garlic, ginger, or shallots/green onions, sugar, lime juice, and rice vinegar or other vinegars.

In the Indonesian archipelago, there are as many as 300 varieties of sambal. The intensity ranges from mild to very hot. Some of the popular varieties include:

Sambal andaliman

Similar to sambal lado mudo but with the addition of andaliman pepper.

Sambal asam

This is similar to sambal terasi with an addition of tamarind concentrate. Asam means tamarind or sour in Indonesian.

Sambal bajak (badjak)

Banten sambal. Chili (or another kind of red pepper) fried with oil, garlic, terasi, candlenuts and other condiments. This is darker and richer in flavor than sambal asam.

Sambal balado

Minangkabau style sambal. Chili pepper or green chili is blended together with garlic, shallot, red or green tomato, salt and lemon or lime juice, then sauteed with oil.

Sambal colo-colo

From Ambon, it consists of Indonesian sweet soy sauce, chili, tomatoes bits, shallots and lime it has a chiefly sweet taste. It is suitable for barbecue dishes. Some variations will add butter or vegetable oil to the sambal.

Sambal dabu-dabu

It comes close to the Mexican salsa sauce, it is of Manado's origin. It consists of coarsely chopped tomatoes, calamansi or known as lemon cui or jeruk kesturi, shallots, chopped bird's eye chili, basil, vegetable oil, salt.

Sambal durian or Sambal tempoyak

It is made from fermented durian called tempoyak. The fermentation process takes 3 to 5 days. The chili and the tempoyak may be readily mixed or served separately, to cater the individual preference in ratio of chili to tempoyak to determine the scale of hotness. This sambal available in two varieties: raw and cooked. In the cooked variety, pounded chilis, shallots and lemongrass are stir-fried with anchovies, tempoyak and turmeric leaf (for aroma). Petai (Parkia speciosa) and tapioca shoots are also frequently added. The sweet-sour-hot sambal can be found in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), especially in Palembang and Bengkulu.

Sambal gandaria

Freshly ground sambal terasi with shredded gandaria, a kind of tropical fruit native to Southeast Asia.

Sambal jengkol

Freshly ground sambal terasi mixed with sliced fried jengkol, a kind of tropical bean with slightly stinky aroma native to Southeast Asia. Sambal jengkol can be found in Sundanese and Cirebon cuisine.

Sambal kalasan

Sometimes also called sambal jawa. Similar to sambal tumis, it is stir fried. It uses a heapful of palm sugar which gives its dark brown color, tomato, spices and chili. The overall flavor is sweet, with mild hints of spices and chili.

Sambal kacang

A mixture of chilli with garlic, shallot, sugar, salt, crushed fried peanuts, and water. Usually used as condiments for nasi uduk, ketan, or otak-otak. The simple version only employ cabe rawit chilli, crushed fried peanuts and water.

Sambal kemiri

This is similar to sambal terasi with an addition of candlenuts.

Sambal lado mudo/ijo

Lado mudo is Minangkabau for green sambal, it is lso called sambal ijo, a Padang, (West Sumatra) specialty - the sambal is green (not the usual red)- made using green tomatoes, green chili, shallot, and spices. The sambal is stir fried.