Sambal Bajak is a wonderful hot sauce (or paste) that is a bit sweet and very easy to make.  If you have a craze for spicy foods, try out Sambal Bajak!

It is the spicy sauce that can be used with any kind of dishes. It gives a tangy flavour to the dishes which is loved by most of the people. This has the power to increase the flavour of any dish that it is put into. this wonderful hot sauce (or paste) is made from lots and lots of chillies. The main ingredients used in it are onions and it is full of red peppers. Both combined together can give sweet and spicy taste to the sambal. This makes it unique and it tastes different from the rest of the sauces and other items.

sambal recipe

The main reason for using onions is that the red chillies are very hot and they have to be neutralised with something sweet, as the hotness of the chillies is not at all good for health. The onions are caramelised and used in specific amounts to create a great balance of spicy and sweet in the Sambal Bajak. Sambal is famous in the Eastern countries like Malaysia, Singapore, etc. It is prepared mostly in households but also in restaurants. Usually it is prepared in bulk to be used whenever needed. It can be served raw or it can be cooked easily with any kind of dish. The preparation of this is not hard at all and people can prepare it anytime they want.

Sambal Bajak can be used in many ways

The ways in which Sambal can be used are different. They can be used in different kinds of dishes ranging from Rice to meat and eggs. Most people use it just to increase the taste of the dish. It can be added to the dish at the time of cooking and it can also be used raw at the time of serving any dish. It is also fried by some people as the hotness is much to bear for some people and frying it reduces it to some extent. The hotness of some chillies can be excessive and to maintain the level of spiciness, the sambal is fried. Sambal bajak is best used with chicken, fish or any kind of meat. It is best basically with fried foods. This can also be fried to remove the foul smell of the Shrimp paste that is an essential ingredient of Sambal bajak.

Ways in which Sambal Bajak can be prepared:

Ingredients used:sambal bajak

  • Thai Red Chillies
  • Small cherry tomatoes
  • Shallot
  • Cloves and garlic
  • Candlenuts
  • Dried shrimp paste
  • Coconut sugar
  • Salt as per desired by the maker

The steps that are needed to be followed for preparation:

  • First take a pan and then put red chillies, cherry tomatoes, shallot, cloves, garlic, Candlenuts and Dried shrimp paste into the pan and heat it in a higher temperature. One can also use an oven in order to heat all of the ingredients. This method is to be continued till the time when the smell of all the ingredients starts to come out.
  • Then after taking out the ingredients, they are needed to be ground in a proper manner so that they can be made into a fine paste. It might sometimes be not possible to make it into a total fine paste.
  • In the final step, take a pan, put oil in it and then heat it in medium flame. The ingredients should be fried in the oil for around 10 minutes. Next, coconut sugar should be mixed into the paste that is made. You have to stir the mixture till it turns into a dark red colour. Once the mixture gets its colour, it is prepared and it can be used with any dish that you prefer. It reduces the work of the spices as it acts as a spice itself. It is just like mustard that is used in making of the dishes.

There are many ways of preparing bajak. Some may use more ingredients while some may change the quantity of the ingredients. The taste will almost remain same but with some adjustments. It is made in a sweeter and a less spicy way to make it easy for all people to consume it.

Ways in which Sambal bajak can be purchased:

Bottled bajak is available in any supermarkets and departmental stores today. The bottled one is made into a fine paste. The raw ingredients that are used to prepare these are also available in any shop. People can make sambal at home or they can purchase the ready-made one. In this technology world, even it can be purchased online from any of the shopping websites. The taste of sambals differs. When you buy a pot, you should check out whether it matches with your taste or not. You should always purchase Sambal keeping in mind the dishes where you are planning to use it. The chillies used in the preparation of this are different from the normal ones and are found only in some select shops.

Sambal bajak is a great serve with any item. If you haven’t tasted till now, do have the taste of it soon!