---
title: Spice things up with these 3 saucy sambals
description: Spice up your week with these recipes for the 3 different Indonesian sambal recipes that we make and serve at Bawah Reserve.
---

[Bawah Reserve News and Blog](https://blog.bawahreserve.com)

# [Spice things up with these 3 saucy sambals](https://blog.bawahreserve.com/spice-things-up-with-these-3-saucy-sambals)

 Written by [Bawah Reserve](https://blog.bawahreserve.com/author/bawah-reserve) | Feb 12, 2020 4:24:17 AM

Sambal is a chilli condiment that graces every Indonesian meal. Just like hot sauces, there are hundreds of different varieties of sambal, from regional versions to family recipes that are passed down through the generations.

Each sambal features chilli of some sort – green, red, bird’s eye, cooked or raw – plus a combination of other ingredients. The all-purpose condiment can be on the dry and thick or on the more saucy side. Eaten on Indonesian dishes, sambals can lend a powerhouse of flavours: heat from chillies, sour from  
limes, sweetness from palm sugar or gula melaka or an umami bomb from roasted shrimp paste.

Here at Bawah Reserve, we have our own array of green and red sambals - made using our homegrown chillis!  Which one will be your favourite?

 

 

If you are heading to Bawah - our chefs can tell you how to make it yourself, or you can join one  of our cookery classes to learn how to make a couple of Indonesian dishes to add to your repertoire? If you’re lucky, you might get to take some sambal back with you to add some spice into your cooking at home.  In the meantime here are our 3 recipes for you to try at home.

 

 

### Cooking & Storing Tips

Sambals are traditionally ground using a mortar and pestle which provides a coarse texture and consistency, although you can also use a food processor (which may require more oil to help the paste blend). Freshly-made sambal can be stored in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

 

 

 

### Recipe: Sambal Terasi

Sambal terasi – or belacan as it is known throughout Southeast Asia – is one  
of the more common sambals. It is made with fermented shrimp paste or  
dried shrimps, which gives it a strong shrimpy taste and a deep pungent flavor  
with a real spicy kick.

 

###### Ingredients Serves 6  Red chillies, 250 grams, deseeded  Shallots, 50 grams, peeled and chopped  Garlic, 25 grams, peeled and minced  Shrimp paste or terasi, 15 grams  Cooking oil  Salt, 15 grams  Sugar, 25 grams

###### Directions

1. Shallow fry the chillies, shallots and garlic in a big frying pan over low  
heat until the colors become translucent.  
2. Place the mixture in a blender and blend into a smooth paste (you may  
need to add extra oil to help it blend).  
3. Add cooking oil to a pan and saute the sambal and shrimp paste over  
low heat. Stir every 10 minutes, until the color darkens, taking care not  
to burn the sambal. Season with salt and sugar to taste.

### Recipe: Sambal Hijau

This green sambal is so good that it really should come with a warning. We  
have had guests who have pleaded to smuggle it back home with them – it’s  
that good! Eat it with plain rice or smear it on a crusty baguette. Our chefs  
decided to pay it forward and give you the recipe to make at home.

Green chillies are often not very spicy so if you like heat, add some green birds eye  
chilli to up the spice levels.

 

###### Ingredients Serves 6

######  Long green chillies, 250 grams  Shallots, 50 grams, peeled  Garlic, 25 grams, peeled  Lemongrass, 1 piece, crushed  Cooking oil  Salt, 10 grams  White pepper, 5 grams  Sugar, 15 grams  Lime juice, 10 ml

###### Directions

1. Shallow fry the green chillies, shallots and garlic in a big frying pan  
over low heat until the colors become translucent. Place the mixture in  
a blender and blend into a smooth paste.  
2. Add cooking oil to a pan and saute the sambal paste with the  
lemongrass over low heat. Stir every 10 minutes, until the color  
darkens.  
3. Season with salt, white pepper, sugar and lime juice to taste.

 

### Recipe: Sambal Matah

Sambal Matah is a famous raw sambal from Bali – island of the gods. In  
Balinese, Matah means raw, and unlike the other sambals here, this sambal is  
more like a uncooked chunky salsa. The Balinese often eat sambal matah with  
fish dishes, chicken or the island’s famous suckling pig.

 

###### Ingredients Serves 6

######  Green chillies or red chillies, 125 grams, chopped  Shallots, 50 grams, peeled and chopped  Garlic, 25 grams, peeled and chopped  1 lemongrass, peeled and chopped (white parts only, cut 5 cm from the bottom)  Coconut oil or any cooking oil, 300 ml  Salt, 5 grams  White pepper 3 grams  Lime juice, 10 ml  Fish sauce, 5 ml  Shrimp paste or terasi, 3 grams

 

###### Directions

1. Place the chillies, shallots, garlic and lemongrass in a mixing bowl.  
2. Heat the oil in a pan until really hot, then add it to the mixture in the  
bowl.  
3. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix well. Enjoy!

 

 

Happy cooking and if you like these, why not check out some of our other recipes here............

 

 

[View full post](https://blog.bawahreserve.com/spice-things-up-with-these-3-saucy-sambals)

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