Sambal has been a most important part of Indonesian meals. There are many kinds of sambal in Indonesia, and one of the most common and easy-to-find sambal is Sambal Bajak.
You can find Sambal Bajak at warung tegal or warteg (food stall selling pre-cooked homemade Indonesian food) spread across Indonesia. This Sambal tastes a little bit sweet and can be eaten with almost all kinds of Indonesian dishes.
Rather than buy this Sambal at warteg, why not make it at home?
Here is the recipe of Sambal Bajak:
Ingredients 1
- 2 shallots
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 19 cabe rawit (Thai chilies)
- 5 cabe merah (red chilies)
- 2 medium-sized tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon of terasi (shrimp paste)
- 1 tablespoon of palm sugar
- Salt
Ingredients 2
- 2 shallots, sliced thinly
- 2 bay leafs
- 2 tablespoon of tamarind water
- 1 lemongrass, crushed lightly
- 1cm of galangal, crush lightly
- 50 ml Water
- 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
Instructions
- Grind all ingredients 1 into paste with stone mortar, set aside
- Heat the cooking oil in a frying pan, then sauté the sliced shallots until fragrant
- Add the chili paste, galangal, lemongrass, and bay leaves, stir thoroughly until fragrant
- Pour tamarind water and 50ml water. Cook in low heat until it’s no longer watery
- Add salt, stir well. Remove from the heat and Sambal Bajak is ready to serve
