Sambal Bajak: Ploughman’s Sambal

Method8 steps · about 50 min

1. 1

   Step 1: In a saucepan, boil big red chillies (5), bird’s eye chillies (10), shallots (5), garlic (3 cloves) and tomatoes with 1 cup of water over medium heat, for about 7 minutes. Drain and let it cool.

   Boil sambal vegetables · 7 minUses 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

   
2. 2

   Step 2: Once the boiled ingredients are cool enough to handle, blend using a food processor or blender, into a coarse paste.

   Uses cooled boiled drained sambal vegetables

3. 3

   Step 3: Heat the vegetable oil (¼ cup) in a wok on medium-high heat.

   Uses ¼ cup vegetable oil

4. 4

   Step 4: Fry the sliced shallots (3) until golden-brown, about 4 minutes.

   Fry sliced shallots · 4 minUses heated vegetable oil · 3 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced

   
5. 5

   Step 5: Add the blended paste, salam leaves (2), galangal (4 cm) and lemongrass (1). Stir well.

   Uses fried sliced shallots and oil · coarse cooked-vegetable sambal paste · 1 lemongrass, bruised, knotted · 2 salam leaves · 4 cm fresh galangal, sliced

   
6. 6

   Step 6: Mix the tamarind (1 tsp) with the separate 2 tbsp water, knead and strain to extract the juice. Add that juice to the sambal with the roasted shrimp paste (1 tsp), brown sugar (1 tbsp) and salt to taste (to taste), and mix well.

   Uses sambal paste with fried shallots and herbs · 1 tsp tamarind for extraction · 2 tbsp water for tamarind extraction · 1 tsp roasted shrimp paste · 1 tbsp brown sugar · Salt to taste

7. 7

   Step 7: Cook over low heat, stirring to prevent sticking, until the liquid has evaporated and the sambal is thickened and glazed, around 20 minutes.

   Reduce sambal bajak · 20 minUses seasoned tamarind-shrimp sambal

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Transfer to a small serving bowl.

   Uses finished sambal bajak