Sambal Bajak – 35-Minute Recipe
Sambal Bajak is a richly flavored Indonesian chili paste that balances savory, sweet, and tangy notes. It’s mildly spicy yet complex, making it a versatile condiment for rice, grilled meats, or as a dipping sauce.
Recipe by mamabrins· Structured by ReelsMeals
From: TikTok(view original)
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Cooking context
35 min estimated total time for 4 servings.
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Ingredients
- 0.85 cup vegetable oil
- 5 big red chilis
- 20 curly red chilis
- 20 birds eye chilis
- 2 red tomatoes
- 3 garlic cloves
- 5 3/10 oz shallots
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp mushroom stock powder
- 1 tbsp Indonesian palm sugar
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste powder
- 2 tbsp tamarind water
Instructions
- 1Heat the vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.
- 2Add the roughly chopped big red chilis, curly red chilis, birds eye chilis, and garlic cloves; fry until the chilis are about half cooked, about 3–4 minutes.
- 3Add the sliced tomatoes to the pan and continue cooking until they become tender and start to break down, about 5 minutes.
- 4Remove the cooked chilis, tomatoes, and garlic from the oil and transfer them to a blender or mortar and pestle; blend or grind until a smooth paste forms.
- 5Return the blended paste to the pan, add the finely sliced shallots, salt, mushroom stock powder, Indonesian palm sugar, shrimp paste powder, and tamarind water; stir well and simmer gently for 5–7 minutes until the sambal thickens and the flavors meld.
- 6Allow the sambal to cool, then transfer it to a clean jar and store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
Helpful tips while cooking
AI-assisted notes grounded in this recipe's ingredients, timings, and method—not additional creator instructions.
Partial fry the chilis
Fry the chopped chilis and garlic for about 3–4 minutes until they are half cooked before adding the tomatoes.
Blend before simmering
Transfer the cooked chilis, tomatoes, and garlic to a blender or mortar and grind to a smooth paste before returning it to the pan.
Simmer to thicken
After adding shallots and seasonings, simmer the mixture gently for 5–7 minutes until the sambal thickens.
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Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to make Sambal Bajak?
- About 35 minutes in total: 15 minutes of prep and 20 minutes of cooking.
- How many servings does this Sambal Bajak recipe make?
- This recipe makes 4 servings as written; ingredient quantities on this page can be scaled.
- Where does this Sambal Bajak recipe come from?
- It was shared by mamabrins on tiktok.com. ReelsMeals structured the original post into this step-by-step card; the original is linked above.