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.
It's ready at pecah minyak, the point where the paste has fried long enough that its oil rises out. If you don't see that, keep cooking.
Adapted from KP Kwan's nasi lemak sambal at Taste of Asian Food (opens in a new tab), with more onion and dried shrimp.
- Yield
- About 1 cup, enough for 4 plates of nasi lemak
- Time
- 30–45 minutes of active cooking
Ingredients
Serves
- ~100glarge dried red chilies (cili kering or Kashmiri-style, not bird's eye), soaked 10 min, drained, seeded
- ~30gdried shrimp (udang kering), soaked 10 min
- ~200g (1 large)onion, blended
- ~100g (½ large)onion, thinly sliced
- 1–1½ tsptamarind concentrate, closer to 1½, dissolved in 1 tbsp warm water
- 25–40ggula melaka, grated. Start at 25g
- ¾–1 tspbottled shrimp paste in soya bean oil (no need to toast it)
- ~½ cupneutral oil
- Salt
- ~10graw ikan bilis, pounded into the paste (optional, for extra umami)
Method
- Blend the soaked chilies, soaked dried shrimp, blended onions, and shrimp paste until smooth. If the blender stalls, loosen it with some of the measured oil rather than water.
- Put the paste in a wok or saucepan with the oil. Cook on high for 5 minutes, stirring constantly with a splatter screen on, to drive off the moisture.
- Turn it down to medium and keep stirring for 15 to 25 minutes, until the paste is a dark rust and a layer of red oil has risen around it. That's pecah minyak.
- Add the tamarind, palm sugar, and sliced onions. Cook 5 to 10 minutes more, until thick and glossy.
- Taste and adjust with salt and sugar. You want salt, sweet, sour, and heat all there, with the dried shrimp in the background.
- 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.
- It improves after a day or two, and keeps 2 weeks in the fridge if the oil fully splits.
What I use
- Dutch oven for curries and braises: Lodge enameled, 6 qt (opens in a new tab) (the paste spits, and the high sides help)
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