Hot Sambal

My original javanese sambal was very simple. My mom, my grandmother, and our neighbors on the island of Java used only chili peppers, terasi, and salt. They use the javanese/indonesian mortar and pestle we call 'cobek' (pronounced: chop beck) to crush the peppers. The act of crushing peppers on cobek is 'ulek' or the Dutch Indonesians spell it 'oelek', which means grind by hand. Later on as I grew up, I experienced diversities of sambal, especially as I travelled the Indonesian archipelago.

Every island in Indonesia has its own traditional recipe of sambal. Sambal Bali .... sambal Manado ...... Just type sambal and the name of the island/city and google it.

But my recipe, which has won 'hugs and kisses' from my friends the past 30 years has not changed, it consists of 7 ingredients:

Red hot peppers 1/2 lb. (.2 kg)
Shallots 2 lb (.8 kg)
Garlic 1/4 lb (.1 kg)
Pre baked terasi about 1 Tablespoon
Salt 2 teaspoon
Sugar 2 teaspoon
Vegetable oil 1/4 cup

I have used different types of peppers, and sometimes substituting shallots with other types of onions, depending on availability in the market. In fact, because of this reason, I have had fun experimenting different tastes and "heat levels" of peppers. Not all my guests like it hot. So, I modify my sambal by putting more shallots/onions when all I have is super hot chili peppers. Since fresh chili peppers are not always available in some countries, especially during the winter time. I have decided that the best way to always have sambal ready in my home, without going through the chores each time, is to make it in big batches, store them in tiny plastic containers and freeze them.

Here is my 30 minute sambal:

Wash the peppers, remove the stems. Big peppers may require removal of the seeds.
Peel the skin of garlic and shallots then coarsely chop.
Heat the oil in a deep frying pan, sautee the above ingredients until limp for about 5 minutes.
Let it cool off then put it in a blender adding the remaining ingredients and blend it till desired consistency. If the terasi comes in soft paste form, I prefer grind it coarsely. But if you get the prebaked terasi, it's generally hard, so I use 'blend' till it's smooth. The oil, sugar, and salt will function as natural preservatives.

And..... voila ! Your sambal is ready to enjoy with your meal.

Buy some tiny plastic containers to store them in the freezer, and take one out as you need.