Sambal is the basis or foundation of countless southeast Asian cooking. Its what gives their dishes that distinct and unique heat or spiciness that are normally associated with southeast Asian food. Essentially, it's a chili paste blended with aromatics. Every household has their own preferred blend or take on it.
This delightful recipe is one of the most basic and widely used one and how I usually do it in my cooking. The versatility of this paste is that you can tailor the aromatics to your taste buds. Do not be afraid to play around with the quantity of each ingredients in order to satisfy your palette. However, do not worry if the heat level is a bit too high, remember this paste will later be used in other recipes. You may adjust how much heat you want later, by reducing or adding more of the paste in the recipe.
Do note that the exact amount in this recipe last my family for about one and a half week. I always make this much around every week and refrigerate it.
Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup dried chilies
1 1/2 cup shallots
4 bulbs garlic
4 inch. ginger
6 lemongrass
Preparation
1. Roughly chop all the ingredients.
2. Blend all the ingredients in a blender with 1/2 cup of water until fine.
