As mentioned by Deyana in her previous Sambal Dabu-Dabu Lilang post, we accidentally made the same sambal on the very same morning. I wanted to surprise Deyana by not informing her in advance what I was going to make, but it turned out we both made the same sambal as a sauce for our main dish that day. We laughed and decided to publish both recipes anyway. The more the merrier!
It’s great to have a different version of the recipe, as it proves that cooking is a fun and flexible thing. There are many different ways of making the same dish, based on one’s experience and preferences.
Deyana has covered in detail about sambal dabu-dabu, so I won’t explain it further. My version is more or less the same as Deyana’s, but it’s spicier. MY sambal spares no one!
In my recipe, only bird eye’s chillies (red and green) are used, and these are generally much spicier than regular big chillies. I also added green tomatoes and lime zest for added freshness; green tomato has an interesting firm, crunchy texture, and a tanginess that helps to reduce the spiciness. Lime zest, meanwhile, gives a refreshing citrusy flavour, suitable for seafood dishes.
That day, I had a great lunch consisting of grilled fish with sambal dabu-dabu. It was amazing, and we’ll share the grilled fish recipe soon. Don’t forget to check Cook Me Indonesian regularly so you won’t miss it!
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Nunuk’s Sambal Dabu-Dabu Lilang: Manado Chopped Chilli & Lime Sambal (Vegan)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Sauces & Sambals
- Method: Smoking
- Cuisine: Indonesian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Sambal dabu-dabu is a popular chopped chilli sambal from Manado. This version incorporates lime zest and green tomatoes for extra freshness, complementing the dark, full flavour of coconut oil.
Ingredients
- 1 red tomato, deseeded, diced
- 1 green tomato, quartered, chopped
- 4 red bird’s eye chillies, sliced
- 4 green bird’s eye chillies, sliced
- 2 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
- Lime zest from half a lime, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- Salt to taste
- 0.5 tsp sugar
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a bowl, mix together thoroughly.
- Heat the coconut oil until it smokes, around 2-3 minutes.
- Add the hot coconut oil in the sambal mix, stir evenly.
- Serve the sambal immediately.
Notes
- Coconut oil gives a distinctive flavour to the sambal, but can be substituted with vegetable oil if unavailable.
Keywords: Quick and easy, common ingredients, spicy, green tomatoes, coconut oil
