SAMBALOGY
Sambal – a burst of heat, umami and tanginess!!!
Sambal – is a must have chili paste / hot sauce. Sambal is Southeast Asian condiment available in many different versions. It is a condiment that is so versatile you can have it with almost anything – rice, noodles, bread. The paste can also be used as a base for fried rice or combined with proteins and/or vegetables to make dishes from the Malay/Nyonya kitchen – Shrimp Sambal, Squid Sambal, Anchovies Sambal, Potato Sambal, Eggplant Sambal, Kangkung Belacan and the list goes on.
So with so many different versions of sambals, I must admit I’m a bit lost on where to begin……..
Ok, I choose to travel back in time. Perhaps almost 4 decades back. As far as my memory takes me, I started having sambal when I was 6 years old. I recall coming back from kindergarten and my late Nenek (grandmother in Malay) would prepare lunch which usually consists of rice served with side dishes such as Chicken or beef masak kicap (savoury oyster sauce meets sweet soya sauce gravy), stir fried vegetables and sambal belacan! I supposed she did not make the sambal extremely hot back then. Or maybe she did make it hot. I must have adapted to the heat since I have high tolerance level towards the heat of the chili (or so I believed until I made some sambal recently which I thought was crazy hot but some friends who tried it said it could be spicier! So when it comes to spicy heat level this aspect remains subjective.
Below are some of the sambals I am familiar with:
Sambal Belacan
The first thought of sambal is the “sambal belacan” that my late Nenek (grandmother in Malay) made every day for lunch and dinner. One of the fondest memories I had with my grandmother was the quality time we spent in the kitchen together. Seated on her colourful straw mat, she holds the well-worn rather short pestle and pounds our Malaysian red chilies (Capsicum annuum L.) together with bird’s eye chilies, with roasted & pungent smelling belacan in her deeply sunken granite mortar. The Thai’s would also add the roots of coriander here for wonderful flavour. My Nenek would pound all the ingredients till the texture breaks down to a paste – not too fine and not too rough. “Don’t watch to close” she would say and Murphy’s Law sometimes comes into picture when some bits of chili lands on my face or into my eyes!!!!
Sidetrack:
Belacan (Hardened Shrimp Paste)
Belacan is hardened shrimp paste and is the key element if you want to make sambal belacan! So, I think it is important to talk a bit about belacan here. My nenek is from Malacca but she always insisted on using belacan from Penang and not from Malacca. My late mother was the opposite, she would only use belacan from Melaka.
Yes, there is a difference between the belacan from the two states of Malaysia.
The belacan from Malacca is made from udang geragau (acetes) and is formed in a round disk or ball shape. The shade of Malaccan belacan is of pale pink in color.
The belacan from Penang on the other hand is made from small shrimp (but definitely bigger than geragau shrimp). It is usually in square or rectangular shape. The shade of Penang belacan is of dark brown.
Belacan is an important ingredient in Malay, Nyonya and many other Malaysian dishes. You would first need to roast/toast the belacan to release its aroma and its complex umami flavour. However, some also say that since the process of creating belacan involves it being sun dried, the toasting process is essential to get rid of the nasty unwanted stuff. I would usually cut my belacan in smaller pieces and wrap it in aluminium foil like a parcel. Then place the parcel on a pan over the stove and heat over slow flame.
If you are doing this outside of a South East Asian country, this smell may shock the foreign noses. The aroma is unforgivably pungent and powerful. I would not be surprised if your neighbours would call the authorities to report a gas leakage or something! I usually roast my belacan with all windows open and the fan running. Then I hear my little rascals screaming “So smelly! What’s that smell????”
Honestly, I have no strict preference on belacan. In my personal opinion both belacan from Penang or Malacca tastes and smell the same. Perhaps I have not fully developed the belacan connoisseur taste bud like my late Nenek and mother. But in my daily cooking where belacan is needed I would use one or the other. In May 2021, my good friend Hooi Phing sent me a box full of belacan all the way from Penang! So in the next productions of sambal and classic Laksa Johor dishes, it will incorporate the belacan from Penang.
Back to the first paragraph
Satisfied with her chili pounding exercise and depending on what acidity is available in her pantry and garden, she would add tamarind juice or green mangoes or belimbing buluh (Averrhoa bilimbi) and mix/smash it in the mortar itself. Salt and sugar to taste. Sometimes she would add Ajinomoto to enrich the umami flavour. As far as I could remember, back then MSG was not perceived as a sinful ingredient. I personally don’t use MSG powder like Ajinomoto or Tumix. Not that I’m against it or anything, if it is present in the ingredients I use like my favourite oyster sauce or cube stocks, I have KNOW issues).
Sambal Belacan is indeed a versatile condiment. Some may add pounded ikan bilis or dried shrimp or cincalok (fermented krill/small shrimp) for an intense umami flavour. Some would prefer a dash of sweetness/tanginess by adding fruit/vegetables such as tomatoes, pineapples, mangoes, kedondong, durian, cermai (Malay gooseberry) and many more.
Anyways, when it is time to serve her small bowl of sambal belacan she would squeeze a few calamansi lime on top of the sambal and put some at the side for those who prefers to add more tanginess.
The Sambal belacan that I know involves no cooking or oil. It is usually taken raw and paired with hot steamed rice, ulam (local Asian salad/herbs/vegetables), compliments fish curries very well, beef kicap manis stew, kurma curry dishes and many other gravies or curries from the Malay and Indian kitchen. I personally find that sambal belacan goes well with rice better than noodles but there is of course no rules and regulations on this. Enjoy it to your preference.
Though I am very sure my Nenek is aware of short cuts and that sambal belacan can be made in bulk using a blender or chopper and kept in the fridge to be eaten over the next few days, she prefers to make hers in small batches on a daily basis. Sometimes if the lunch stock is finished, she would make a new batch for dinner. No wonder she spends such a long time in the kitchen. Looking back, I now see that this is her “me time”, the therapeutic session that she finds through one of the process and joy of cooking.
Sambal Goreng
Sambal Goreng in our family recipes would be of similar ingredients as sambal belacan – fresh red chilies (Capsicum annuum L.), bird’s eye chilies, roasted & pungent smelling belacan. However, to make it fall under the sambal goreng category we add some garlic, ginger, lemongrass (optional), kafir lime leaves (optional) and those cute but annoying to peel small red Asian shallots. I usually have no patience and tend to resort to the big red onions. But this quick short cut of using big red onions usually don’t do justice to the sambal. The small red Asian shallots tastes so much better with a hint of sweetness. All these ingredients will end up in the pot to be sautéed /tumis over a long period over low flame. Similar to sambal belacan, you may add different types of umami, sweet and tangy ingredients to suit your preference.
There is two methods to Sambal Goreng
- Method 1: pound / roughly chop all the above mentioned above ingredients (except for kafir lime leaves) together and fry it in vegetable oil. Halfway through add palm sugar or sugar/tamarind paste/calamansi/ lime juice to add to the tanginess based on your preference and fry all the ingredients till the oil separates and till the sambal paste becomes thicker and of dark red shade.
- Method 2: Shallow fry the roughly chopped/ chunks of chilies, red shallots, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and lemongrass till soft. Once the ingredients are soft, scoop it out and (leave the oil in the pan). Next pound/roughly blend the scooped out ingredients with toasted belacan and other umami ingredients. Pound till all the ingredients incorporates together and then fry again in the oil used to fry the chilies, onion, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and tomatoes till the oil separates. Add sweetness/sourness/umami to your creativity and preference! Add kafir lime. The sambal is ready when the color turns dark red.
The Sambal Goreng can be eaten on its own with rice, noodles, bread and crackers. Or it could be paired with fish, chicken, eggplants, tempeh and many more.
It is also so versatile you can even use it as a base to make Nasi Goreng Kampung.
Sambal Tumis
Sambal Tumis in my family’s culinary practice is something my late mother would prepare for each Hari Raya (Eid). The sambal tumis ikan parang (wolf herring) initially started from my Nenek then passed down to my mother and now I try my very best to recreate the memories of these two wonderful ladies in my life by preparing Sambal Tumis Ikan (it can be a challenge to find ikan parang here in Lahad Datu, so I use ikan tenggiri (narrow barred Spanish mackerel) instead for each Hari Raya here.
Anyways, Sambal Tumis is a different ballgame in the world of sambal! It is usually produced in larger amount than sambal belacan. Sambal tumis is usually paired with protein like fish and seafood or with vegetables such as eggplant, or vegan protein such as tempeh. Some people also cook Sambal Tumis with Chicken or beef. However, in our family we love to pair it with fish and seafood such as squid or prawns.
Sambal tumis is produced from chili paste made from the main ingredients that consists of crinkled dried chilies. This is the beginning of a long process – a labor of love. You can of course cut short the process by buying instant chili boh (dried chili paste). However, our family prefer to make our own from scratch as some store-bought chili boh can be extremely salty or acidic perhaps due to additive content.
The making of Chili Boh from scratch:
- With a pair of scissors cut the crinkled dry chili stem and head
- Split the chili lengthwise from the widest part halfway through to the chili tip
- Remove the seeds. If you can’t take the spice well remove all but if you love the chili heat then by all means leave some seeds behind.
- Use a colander to run cold water over the deseeded chilis. Soak and rinse the dried chilis a few times to remove dirt. Note: I recommend using a glove when doing this as some chili can leave painful burn on your skin.
- Add cleaned and rinsed chili in a pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat of the flame to a medium low and boil for about 30 mins till the chili plumps up.
- After 30 minutes, pour the magic potion of boiled chili into a colander and drain the water.
- Transfer the chili to a blender and blend with a bit of water till fine.
Oooops in case if you are wondering that’s how we make sambal tumis, let me stir you in the right direction. That’s not the end of the sambal tumis making process. In fact that is just the beginning. The chili boh is just one of the many ingredients of sambal tumis.
So, to make sambal tumis, you would need other aromatics such ginger, lots of small shallots or red onion, garlic (all aromatics blended together). Optional: you may also add a few stalks of bruised lemongrass and a few knotted pandan leaves for aroma and taste. In a big pot and generous amount of vegetable cooking oil, fry (on medium heat) the blended aromatics together with the blended chili boh.
Note: You don’t have to use all of the chili boh that you blended. You can be freeze some portions to be used for other dishes at other time.
The chili boh and aromatics needs to be united over tremendous amount of stirring, about 5 to 7 times of adding water – each time to dilute the mixture and more stirring so that the mixture thickens and does not get burn. At some point when the mixture is bubbling like crazy you may wish to put a wooden spatula at the centre of the pot so that the bubbles don’t spill out and burn your skin (a technique I learn from Malaysian Girl Jean ). This whole process of frying, stirring, adding water and stirring and waiting for the mixture to thicken is a process the Malays refers to as “Tumis” or Sauté in English. There are no shortcuts to this when making sambal tumis. Logically, the tumis process is as such to ensure that the all the raw ingredients are thoroughly cooked.. My late mother and Nenek always say that if you don’t cook the chili long enough you may end up getting upset tummy. So, it has been drilled in my head that the chili must be given the attention and time to fully cook over a long slow cooking time.
You then add some tamarind paste, toasted belacan, anchovies’ cubes and sugar to taste. Should the sambal turn out to be extremely spicy for your taste, you may also add some coconut cream to tame the heat. However, this would only work for Sambal Tumis and not the Sambal Belacan or Sambal Goreng. Not too much coconut milk though, as sambal are supposed to be of thick sauce and not of soup consistency. Cook on low heat over extended time, constantly stirring the mixture till the oil separates and the color of the sambal turns to be of much darker red.
To add protein such as prawns and squid I recommend quickly pan frying the protein over high heat with a bit of cooking oil till all the water comes out from the prawns/squid. You may then mix some hot sambal tumis in the same pot of the prawns/squid shortly before serving.
For protein such as tempeh and fish, I recommend marinating the proteins with salt and turmeric (just marinate for a while as salt would drain the water content from the fish and the last thing you need is a drought out fish) and fry it to your preferred consistency. Drain the oil from the protein and then mix in a pot of hot sambal tumis before serving.
Ok after writing the above I think I am all samballed out! Hope the above is informative. Having said that, there are too many versions of sambals available. Everyone has their own preference be it really spicy or just mildly spicy. Be it tangier or sweeter……………………
Having said that, our aim and hope is to create convenience for you to relish our tasty homemade sambal straight from Hawa’s Artisan Kitchen’s bottles of joy!
Selamat menjamu selara!
