Description
A flavourful cooked sambal from East Java, traditionally served to farmers who plough the fields, to stimulate their appetite during lunch. Also ideal as a base for stir fried dishes such as fried rice or noodles.
Ingredients
Scale
- 5 big red chillies, chopped
- 10 bird’s eye chillies
- 5 whole shallots, peeled
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 red tomato, halved
- 1 cup water
- 3 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
- 1 lemongrass, bruised, knotted
- 2 salam leaves
- 4 cm fresh galangal, sliced
- I tsp tamarind (mix with 2 tbsp water, extract the juice)
- I tsp roasted shrimp paste
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- Salt to taste
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a saucepan, boil big red chillies, bird’s eye chillies, shallots, garlic and tomatoes with 1 cup of water over medium heat, for about 7 minutes. Drain and let it cool.
- Once the boiled ingredients are cool enough to handle, blend using a food processor or blender, into a coarse paste.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a wok on medium-high heat.
- Fry the sliced shallots until golden-brown, about 4 minutes.
- Add the blended paste, salam leaves, galangal and lemongrass. Stir well.
- Add salt, shrimp paste, brown sugar and tamarind juice, mix well.
- Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, and the sambal is thickened and beautifully glazed, around 20 minutes.
- Transfer to a small serving bowl.
Notes
- Cook the sambal over low flame for the best result.
- Adjust the level of spiciness by using more or fewer bird’s eye chillies.
- Leftover sambal bajak can be used as a base for stir fried dishes and is great for fried rice.
Keywords: Spicy, Shrimp Paste