Malaysian. Condiment. Served at Daun Pisang (#4).

Sambal tumis

Sambal tumis is a cooked chili paste with dried shrimp, tamarind, and palm sugar, served with nasi lemak.

Pecah minyak is the test. The paste is done when the oil separates and pools on top. If it hasn't, keep cooking, however long it's been on the stove.

Makes
Makes about 3 cups, 12 generous servings
Time
45–75 minutes of active cooking
Do ahead
Make it a few days ahead. It improves with time, and keeps 2 weeks in the fridge if the oil fully splits.

Ingredients

Scale
  • ~300glarge dried red chilies (cili kering or Kashmiri-style, not bird's eye), soaked 10 min, drained, seeded
  • ~90gdried shrimp (udang kering), soaked 10 min
  • ~600g (~4 large)onions, blended
  • ~300g (~2 large)onions, thinly sliced
  • 1–1.5 tbsptamarind concentrate, closer to 1.5, dissolved in 3 tbsp warm water
  • 80–120ggula melaka, grated. Start at 80g
  • 2–3 tspbottled shrimp paste in soya bean oil (no need to toast it)
  • ~1.5 cupsneutral oil
  • Salt
  • ~30graw ikan bilis, pounded into the paste (optional, for extra umami)

Method

  1. Blend the soaked chilies, soaked dried shrimp, blended onions, and shrimp paste until smooth. Use oil, not water, to keep the blender moving.
  2. Put the paste in a wok or Dutch oven with the oil. Cook on high for 10 minutes, stirring constantly with a splatter screen on, to drive off the moisture.
  3. Drop to medium and cook 20 to 30 minutes. The bright red turns deep brick-red. Wait for pecah minyak, oil visibly pooling.
  4. Add the tamarind, palm sugar, and sliced onions. Cook 10 to 15 minutes more, until thick and glossy.
  5. Season with salt and sugar. It should taste salty, sweet, sour, spicy, and deeply savory.
  6. Serve at room temperature or slightly warm, spooned beside the rice.

Notes

  • Reheat gently with a splash of water if it tightens.
  • Keep the fried ikan bilis separate for crunch. They don't go in the paste.
  • Ventilate the kitchen while frying the chili paste.