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Sambal Terasi
Serves 250 Prep 15 min Cook 15 min Total 30 min Type Side Origin Indonesian

Sambal Terasi

Indonesia's defining chilli sauce: chillies, garlic, shallot and tomato pounded with a lump of fermented shrimp paste, fried glossy and dark.

Makes 250 ml Prep 15 minutes Cook 15 minutes Units Rate

Overview

Red chillies, garlic, shallots, tomato roast briefly under a grill until softened and slightly charred. Terasi (shrimp paste) toasts in a dry pan 1 minute until intensely fragrant. All ingredients pound or pulse to a coarse paste. The paste then fries in oil 8-10 minutes until deep red, fragrant and oil separates at the edges. Salt and a touch of palm sugar balances. Eats hot or cool.

Ingredients

  • 12 red chillies (10 hot bird's-eye + 2 mild large red - adjust ratio to taste)
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 4 shallots
  • 2 ripe tomatoes (about 200 g)
  • 15 g terasi (Indonesian fermented shrimp paste, substitute Malaysian belacan or Thai gapi)
  • 3 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar (gula merah) or dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice

Method

Stage 1 - Pre-cook

  1. Heat the grill to maximum, or heat a heavy dry skillet over high heat.
  2. Place the whole chillies, garlic (skin on), shallots (skin on) and tomatoes on a baking tray or in the pan.
  3. Char 6-8 minutes, turning, until the skins blister and blacken in patches.
  4. Cool 5 minutes; peel the garlic and shallots (skins slip off); deseed chillies if you want less heat.

Stage 2 - Toast the terasi

  1. Wrap the terasi in foil; place in a dry pan over medium heat 2 minutes per side until intensely fragrant (or directly grill over flame on a metal skewer).
  2. The smell will be powerfully shrimp-funk - this is correct.

Stage 3 - Pound or process

  1. Pound everything together in a mortar (the traditional way): start with terasi, garlic, shallot, then add chilli and tomato.
  2. Processor method: pulse everything together to a coarse paste (not a smooth purée - texture matters).

Stage 4 - Fry

  1. Heat the oil in a wide pan over medium heat.
  2. Scrape the paste in; stir-fry 8-10 minutes.
  3. The colour deepens to a glossy mahogany red; oil pools at the edges; the smell mellows from raw-funky to deeply fragrant.

Stage 5 - Balance

  1. Stir in the palm sugar and salt.
  2. Cook 1 more minute; taste.
  3. Off heat; stir in the lime juice.

Stage 6 - Serve

  1. Spoon into a small bowl.
  2. Serve at any temperature - hot on rice, room temp on grilled meat, cool as a dipping condiment.

Notes

  • Terasi is non-negotiable: without it sambal terasi is just chilli paste. Indonesian/Malaysian/Thai shrimp paste varies in intensity; start with less if your terasi is very pungent.
  • Toast the terasi: raw terasi tastes harshly fishy; toasted it transforms to a deep umami funk.
  • Char the vegetables: raw sambal has a sharp edge; charred vegetables soften and sweeten the base.
  • Coarse paste, not smooth: Indonesian sambal has visible texture. A baby-food purée reads wrong.

Storage

  • Keeps 1 week refrigerated in a sealed jar with a thin film of oil on top.
  • The colour darkens further over 24 hours - improves rather than degrades.
  • Freeze in ice-cube portions for 3 months; thaw at room temperature.

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