About this component
The plainest and most versatile sambal — just chiles, salt and a little sour, pounded fresh. It is the building block from which countless other sambals and dishes begin.
Component facts
- Yield
- About 3/4 cup (180 ml)
- Prep
- 10 minutes
- Heat
- Hot
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
- 15 red chiles, stemmed
- 1 tsp (6 g) salt
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) lime juice or vinegar
- 1 tsp (4 g) sugar (optional)
Method
- Briefly blanch or char the chiles to soften (optional).
- Pound the chiles with salt to a coarse paste in a mortar.
- Work in lime juice and sugar if using.
- Use fresh, or fry briefly in oil to mellow and preserve.
Notes from the book
- Balancing
- Clean, direct heat; keep it coarse for texture.
- Substitutions
- Any fresh red chile; adjust heat by variety.
- Storage and food safety
- Refrigerate up to 1 week raw, or 2–3 weeks if fried in oil.
The Complete Edition
Sambal Oelek (Fresh Chili Paste) sits in the foundations
The book carries this component alongside the other twenty-three, the twenty-seven pantry studies, and the Indonesia chapter it belongs to.
Available from Amazon
- Kindle edition — $9.99 (Kindle Store price) — available now
- Paperback — $49.99 (print list price) — available now