Sambal Oelek
The plain Indonesian chilli paste — fresh red chillies pounded with salt and a little vinegar, with no garlic or shrimp paste, kept in the fridge as the hot base for stir-fries, noodles and dipping sauces.
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 250 g fresh red chillies (bird's eye and long red)
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Nutrition (estimated)
high confidenceRecipe total: 131 kcal · P 4g · C 23.3g · F 0.8g
Estimated from 4 of 4 ingredients
Approximate estimate, calculated from the ingredients.
Steps
Steps
- 1Wear gloves. Pull the stems off the chillies and rinse them; leave the seeds in for the classic heat, or remove some for a milder paste.
- 2Chop the chillies roughly and pound them with the salt in a stone mortar until coarse and pulpy, with seeds and flecks of skin still visible — ulek means to grind, which gives the sambal its name. A small food processor works too: pulse, never purée.
- 3Stir in the vinegar and sugar and simmer the paste in a small pan over low heat for 5 minutes. In Indonesia it is often left raw, but the short simmer rounds off the harsh edge and helps it keep.
- 4Pack into a clean jar, pressing down so no air pockets remain, and keep it in the fridge for up to a month. Use it sparingly: a teaspoon heats a whole wok.
Questions and answers
How long does Sambal Oelek take to make?
About 20 minutes: 15 min prep and 5 min cooking.
What ingredients do you need for Sambal Oelek?
4 ingredients: fresh red chillies, rice vinegar or white wine vinegar, salt, sugar.
How many servings does this Sambal Oelek recipe make?
12 servings. The servings buttons above the ingredients rescale every amount.
How many calories are in a serving of Sambal Oelek?
About 11 kcal, with 0.3 g protein, 1.9 g carbohydrate and 0.1 g fat. This is an estimate from the ingredients, not a lab analysis.
Which diets does this Sambal Oelek recipe suit?
It is vegan and gluten-free.
What cuisine is Sambal Oelek?
Sambal Oelek comes from Indonesian cuisine.
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