Recipe for a Spicy Sambal

One afternoon, as I was messing around the kitchen, I was craving something spicy. We had just gotten some fresh supplies, so I decided to try to make a sambal. Sambal is a traditional, spicy condiment made from fresh ingredients that is usually eaten with fish or rice. People here rarely eat without it in the jungle; it’s sort of like our ketchup.

Well, it did satisfy my craving, so I thought I might share the recipe with you.

Easy Sambal ~ Wild version

• 4 tomatoes
• 1 green onion
• 1-inch piece of galangal, peeled (if you can’t find it fresh, check the freezer section of an Asian grocer)
• 1/2 cup assorted chiles
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of sugar

Put the tomatoes, green onion, galangal, and chiles into a food processor and blitz for three minutes, or until fully blended. Put the ingredients into a small saucepan with oil and sauté. Add the cumin, salt, and sugar into the saucepan. Stir continually until the sambal has been reduced to a thick consistency. Make sure it doesn’t burn!

Best served hot.

(Note: You can use milder or hotter chiles depending on how hot you like your sambal. Additionally, galangal resembles ginger root, but ginger root is not a good substitute for galangal. It is possible to use galangal powder instead of fresh galangal.)