Sambal Bajak: Ploughman’s Sambal
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.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 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
- 1
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.
- 2
Once the boiled ingredients are cool enough to handle, blend using a food processor or blender, into a coarse paste.
- 3
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok on medium-high heat.
- 4
Fry the sliced shallots until golden-brown, about 4 minutes.
- 5
Add the blended paste, salam leaves, galangal and lemongrass. Stir well.
- 6
Add salt, shrimp paste, brown sugar and tamarind juice, mix well.
- 7
Cook until all the liquid has evaporated, and the sambal is thickened and beautifully glazed, around 20 minutes.
- 8
Transfer to a small serving bowl.