WHAT IS SAMBAL? Sambal or loosely translated as chili sauce, is deeply rooted in Indonesian cuisine. There are so many varieties of sambal across Indonesia alone I can’t even tell you exactly how many are there out there. The term sambal simply means chili sauce, usually made with either red or green chili peppers. The peppers are usually also made with other aromatics such as shallots, garlic, shrimp paste (not always), and sometimes you’ll also see herbs like kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass in certain sambal. The texture of the sambal can be smooth to rustic (more coarse looking). Some sambal is raw (sambal mentah), meaning, no cooking is involved, some sambal is cooked (sambal masak), like the sambal balado I’m sharing here.

WHAT IS SAMBAL BALADO ? Sambal Balado or Sambalado is native to the Padang (Minang) cuisine in West Sumatra, which means “with chili”. Lado means chili in the Minang dialect. While typical sambal is usually served as a condiment on the side, Balado is usually cooked with other food to make for example Sambal Terong Balado (Eggplant Balado), Telur Balado (Egg Balado), Ayam Balado (Chicken Balado), Udang Balado (Shrimp Balado), Squid Balado (Cumi Balado), Dendeng Balado (usually made with Beef), Kentang Balado (Potato Balado), etc. You get the idea! Pretty much anything!

HOW TRADITIONAL SAMBAL IS MADE Before the food processor and blender came into contact with human’s life, a mortar and pestle (ulekan) are used to make sambal, which gives its coarse rustic texture and look. The older generations believe that sambal made with ulekan tastes better.