Sambal Bajak
Sambal bajak is an Indonesian chilli paste with fried onion, garlic, red chillies and shrimp paste. Unlike the raw sambal oelek, bajak is cooked through, so the raw edge disappears and the flavour becomes deeper and more rounded.
The chilli dominates, but the onion and shrimp paste add sweetness and umami, and the lemon juice keeps it fresh. The paste is used as a condiment with rice, noodles, fried meat and fish, or as a base for other sauces.
It keeps well in the fridge in a clean jar and only improves with a day or two of resting.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 2 tbsp oil
- 3 small onions, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (or blachan)
- 125 g red chilli, freshly chopped
- 4 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp brown sugar
Directions
Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic and fry until golden, stirring, about 3–4 minutes.
Stir in the shrimp paste and leave it to fry for 1 minute until fragrant.
Add the chilli, lemon juice, salt and brown sugar. Reduce the heat slightly.
Continue frying, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, or until the mixture has come together and is relatively dry.
Leave the paste to cool, then transfer it to a clean jar with a lid. Store in the fridge.
Notes
Active time about 5 minutes, cooking time about 15 minutes.
Choose fresh red chillies according to how hot you want it — large mild chillies give moderate heat, bird’s eye chillies give much more.
Shrimp paste (also called blachan, belacan or terasi) is sold in Asian grocery stores. It is fried briefly with the onion to round out the flavour.
The paste will keep for at least a week in the fridge in a tight-fitting jar. Covering the surface with a little extra oil will make it last even longer.
See Also
Sambal Dabu-Dabu
