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    Home Β» Recipes Β» Sauces/Dips Β» Sambal Oelek

    Sambal Oelek

    Last Modified: February 6, 2023 - Published by: christieathome - Comments: 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Sambal Oelek aka Sambal Ulek. A delicious spicy chili sauce made with chilies, onion, shallots, garlic, tomatoes and oil. Ready in 20 minutes!

    Sambal Oelek

    A flavorful hot sauce that is popularly used in Southeast Asia, like in stir fries.

    What is a sambal oelek?

    It's a chili garlic sauce that is often used in South-East Asian as one of their iconic spicy condiments. It originates from Indonesia and it's an Indonesian word.

    The main ingredient is red chili peppers and green chilies. The other simple ingredients include tomatoes, shallots, onion, garlic, oil, and other seasoning ingredients.

    Sambal Oelek

    This sambal oelek recipe is different from Sriracha sauce as it's not smooth and it's more thick and chunky in texture. The natural color comes from the tomatoes and red chilies.

    What does sambal oelek taste like?

    Authentic sambal oelek is a spicy Indonesian chili paste that is also a bit chunky thanks to the hot red chile peppers, green chile peppers, tomatoes, onions and shallots. The flavor of the ground fresh chili paste is elevated with chicken powder, sugar, salt and garlic.

    How do you use sambal oelek?

    My homemade sambal oelek is used in noodle dishes like Mee Goreng, Mee Bodoh, or curries, stir-fry dishes, nasi goreng or as a condiment to any dish you want to make spicy. It is sometimes used to marinate meat as well.

    Easy to make!

    This sambal oelekΒ recipe is very easy to make. You simply need to char your prepared aromatics and chilies in some oil. Then you can blend the sambal oelek chili paste in a blender or food processor. The traditional way to ground the mixture in a stone mortar and pestle. Lastly, sautΓ© it in a pot with the remaining seasoning ingredients for 10 minutes and now you have your own sambal oelek!

    Ingredients

    You will need the following ingredients for the best sambal oelek. Please scroll down to Recipe Card below for full measurements.

    • Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, vegetable oil or canola oil - avoid using olive oil due to overpowering scent.
    • Red chilies: for mild use whole red chilies (serrano peppers, cayenne peppers, or red jalapenos) that have been de-seeded. You can find this ingredient at your local grocery store. For extra spicy use bird's eye chilies.
    • Green chilies: for mild use jalapeΓ±o peppers that have been de-seeded. For extra spicy use bird's eye chilies
    • Tomatoes of any kind (I used cherry tomatoes for a sweeter flavour)
    • Shallots
    • Onion
    • Garlic cloves
    • Sugar
    • Salt: or soy sauce
    • Chicken powder
    • Lime juice

    How to make Sambal Oelek

    In a hot wok or deep pan on high heat, add 2 tbsp avocado oil, followed by your red and green chilis, onion, shallots, tomatoes and garlic cloves. Char them until the edges are browned. Remove and transfer to a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle.

    Blend on high or ground chili peppers and other ingredients until finely grounded.

    Pour the ingredients back into the pan (I recommend doing this outdoors on a portable stovetop to prevent inhaling hot chili smoke which can lead to a coughing fest!)

    Sambal Oelek

    Bring the paste to a boil and add Β½ cup oil, sugar, salt, lime juice and chicken powder. Stir to mix.Β Allow this to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes uncovered. Taste and season with more sugar, salt or chicken powder if needed.

    Sambal Oelek

    Allow this to cool and transfer to a mason jar. Serve & enjoy!

    Notes: Store sambal sauce in fridge in an airtight container to last for at least a week. You can freeze your plastic jar of sambal and it will last 5-6 months.

    FAQ

    Can I use dried chilies?

    I would not recommend it as a substitute as it's dried and not fresh.

    How long will it last for?

    It will usually last 5-6 days in a sealed container in the fridge. Or you can freeze it so it can last a long time, about 5-6 months.

    Other recipes you may like!

    • CHINESE CHILI OIL
    • CHINESE GREEN ONION SAUCE
    • 3-INGREDIENT DUMPLING DIPPING SAUCE

    Sambal Oelek (Indonesia Chili Paste)

    christieathome
    Sambal Oelek aka Sambal Ulek. A delicious spicy chili sauce made with chilies, onion, shallots, garlic, tomatoes and oil. Ready in 20 minutes!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 10 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course condiment, dip, sauce
    Cuisine indonesian, malaysian, singaporean, south east asian
    Servings 2 cups
    Calories per serving 786 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 tbsp avocado oil or any neutral oil
    • 70 grams red chili peppers For mild version: use red chili peppers like serrano's, fresno, cayenne, or tobasco. For extra spicy: use bird's eye chillies
    • 70 grams green chili peppers For mild version, use jalapeno peppers. For extra spicy: use bird's eye chillies
    • 260 grams tomatoes I used cherry tomatoes for a sweeter flavour
    • 2 shallots halved
    • 1 small yellow onion sliced
    • 1 bulb garlic peeled
    • Β½ cup avocado oil or any neutral oil
    • 4 tbsp white granulated sugar
    • Β½ tbsp salt
    • 3 tsp chicken bouillon powder omit if vegan (aka chicken stock powder)
    • 1 tbsp lime juice

    Instructions
     

    • In a hot wok or deep pan on high heat, add 2 tbsp avocado oil, followed by your red and green chilis, onion, shallots, tomatoes and garlic cloves. Char them until the edges are browned. Remove and transfer to a blender, food processor or mortar and pestle.
    • Blend on high or ground with pestle until finely grounded.
    • Pour the ingredients back into the pan. Tip: I recommend doing this outdoors on a portable stovetop to prevent inhaling hot chili smoke which can lead to a coughing fest!
    • Bring the paste to a boil and add Β½ cup oil, sugar, salt, lime juice and chicken powder. Stir to mix. Allow this to simmer on low heat for 10 minutes uncovered. Taste and season with more sugar, salt or chicken powder if needed.
    • Allow this to cool and transfer to a mason jar. Serve & enjoy!

    Notes

    Store sambal sauce in fridge in an airtight container to last for at least a week. You can freeze your plastic jar of sambal and it will last 5-6 months.
    Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
    Copyright PolicyPlease do not copy and paste my recipes or use my photos in your own site/blog or social media. If you use my recipe for adaptation, please provide a link back to my recipe and re-write in your own words. Thank you.

    Suggested Equipment & Products

    Wok
    Food processor
    Silicone Spatula 3-Piece Set
    Measuring Set
    Resealable Jar
    Nutrition
    Calories: 786kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 69g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 1mg | Sodium: 2591mg | Potassium: 568mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 34g | Vitamin A: 1418IU | Vitamin C: 77mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg
    Course condiment, dip, sauce
    Cuisine indonesian, malaysian, singaporean, south east asian
    Keyword sambal oelek chili paste, sambal oelek diy, sambal oelek garlic, sambal oelek ground chili paste, sambal oelek recipe, what is a sambal oelek
    « Hakka Stuffed Tofu

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Michelle | Sift & Simmer

      January 04, 2021 at 10:22 am

      5 stars
      Always had a jar of this hot sauce in the fridge! Love the addition of chicken powder to the sambal olek... gonna have to try this recipe!

      Reply
    2. Tasia ~ two sugar bugs

      January 05, 2021 at 12:11 am

      5 stars
      My husband and I love hot sauce!! I definitely need to try this one, especially since I make our dishes less spicy for the girls; then my husband and I can make our as spicy as we want!

      Reply
    3. Rosemary

      January 07, 2021 at 3:36 pm

      5 stars
      This is the little dish I always see on the table at ramen places right?! PS- I love your tip for cooking it outdoors to reduce indoor air pollution!!

      Reply
      • christieathome

        January 08, 2021 at 5:42 pm

        Thanks Rosemary! At the ramen places, they probably serve a chili oil that is similar to this but Sambal Oelek contains tomatoes and chicken powder sometimes πŸ™‚

        Reply
    4. Heidi | The Frugal Girls

      January 11, 2021 at 4:06 pm

      5 stars
      That was a great tip for using jalapenos without the seeds to help tone down the heat so I can serve this to my whole family!

      Reply
    5. Sharron LeVere

      June 04, 2022 at 6:22 pm

      Hi Christie! I am making this recipe and I have noticed that in the list of ingredients you ask for 1 bulb od garlic! Is that 1 clove or the whole bulb? If so that is a lot of garlic! Can you please verify this for me. Much thanks!

      Reply
      • christieathome

        June 06, 2022 at 6:15 pm

        Hi Sharron! It's the whole bulb so that would be about 8 cloves of garlic. The garlic gives the sambal that delicious garlickly flavour so lots is needed πŸ™‚

        Reply
    6. Anja

      October 18, 2022 at 5:03 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for sharing this more authentic Sambal Olek recipe Christine. Everyone in the internet food universe is using food processors, but so many skip the cooking part, which is closer to how it's made in Indonesia. I'll be putting this one in my recipe book, because like you, I can't live without Sambal Olek. I love making Nasi Goreng but it's become either to expensive, or harder to find good Sambal Olek's to buy.

      Reply
      • christieathome

        October 18, 2022 at 7:24 pm

        You're very welcome Anja! I'm so glad I could share this authentic way of making this delicious condiment! Thanks for your kind comment and have a lovely day!

        Reply

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    Christie

    Christie is an Asian Recipe Blogger sharing delicious recipes that you can make at home! Her goal is to make Asian cooking approachable and less intimidating. With a social media following of over 500k, she has been featured on Buzz Feed Tasty, Food52, The Kitchn and more! Christie's recipes have been made over and over again by her loyal readers.

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