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Sambal Pecel: Peanut Sauce with Lime Leaves and Kencur

Sambal Pecel: Peanut Sauce with Lime Leaves and Kencur (Vegan)

  • Author: Nunuk Sri Rahayu
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
  • Category: Sauces & Sambals
  • Method: Frying
  • Cuisine: Indonesian
  • Diet: Halal

Description

Sambal pecel is a spicy peanut-based sauce that’s creamy and slightly tart, usually enjoyed with a boiled vegetable salad known as pecel, but can also be used as a dip for fried snacks.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 250 gr peanuts
  • 4 red chillies, remove the stalk
  • 5 red bird’s eye chillies, remove the stalk
  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 3 cm kencur (kaempferia galanga), peeled
  • 1 tsp tamarind pulp
  • 100 gr palm sugar shaved
  • 4 kaffir lime leaves, remove the spine and thinly slice
  • Salt to taste
  • 5 tbsp cooking oil
  • Oil for deep frying

Instructions

  1. Clean the peanuts from any impurities, wash, and pat dry.
  2. Heat enough oil for deep frying over medium heat, and deep fry the peanuts until golden brown (be careful not to overdo it, or it will be burnt and taste bitter). Set aside.
  3. Heat 5 tbsp cooking oil over medium flame and fry the chillies, garlic and kencur for about 4 minutes. Remove from the frying pan, set aside.

    fry the chillies, garlic and kencur

  4. Using mortar and pestle, pound the fried peanuts into a fine paste, set aside.

    pound the fried peanuts

  5. Pound the fried chillies, garlic and kencur into a fine paste, then add the shaved palm sugar, tamarind pulp and salt. Continue pounding until it forms a fine paste. 

    Pound the fried chillies, garlic and kencur

  6. Add the thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, lightly pound to mix it.

    Add the thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves

  7. Add the pounded peanuts, and mix it with the spice paste thoroughly. You can also pound everything together to nicely mix all the ingredients.

    pound everything together

  8. Transfer the sambal into an airtight container for later use.

    sambal pecel is ready


Notes

  • For a healthier version, all the ingredients can be pan roasted, instead of deep-fried. This will also ensure a longer shelf life, as cooking oil will make the sambal rancid. 
  • As usual, the amount of bird’s eye chillies can be adjusted according to your preference.

Keywords: vegan, spicy, chili, garlic, lime leaves