This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Nasi lemak served in Singapore and Malaysia is not complete without this sambal to accompany it. This recipe is really good that you probably will find a reason to eat it with anything you possibly can.
Growing up with Southeast Asian foods, you can’t have too many sambal chili recipes. Sambal is a red chili paste that usually serves as a condiment to many different dishes in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. This particular sambal chili recipe is made to accompany the Singapore or Malaysia Nasi Lemak. The nasi lemak simply is not complete without the sambal chili.
TYPE OF RED CHILI TO USE
You can use dried or fresh red chilies. Dried red chilies are abundant here. It’s harder for me to find fresh red chilies. If I do find fresh red chilies, usually they are red jalapeno peppers or red Anaheim/Fresno peppers. Definitely don’t use all Thai red chilies as it will be too spicy. Sambal nasi lemak is not meant to be overly spicy.
Red Jalapeno Peppers
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST SAMBAL FOR NASI LEMAK
1. Pan fry the dried anchovies in 1 tsp of oil until crispy. Remove and set aside
2. Place the chilies, onion, garlic, lemongrass, pan-fried anchovies, dried shrimp, and oil in a food processor and process into a fine paste
3. Pour this into a pan and stir fry until the chili mixture for about 5 minutes
4. Add the seasoning and continue to stir fry. The paste will get drier and color will turn darker as the sugar carmelizes
5. Cook for another 10-15 minutes until the oil starts to separate
6. Have a taste and adjust to your taste by adding more coconut sugar as needed. The sambal is more on the sweet side. Let it cools down completely
TIPS
1. The longer you cook them, the longer their shelf-life. The oil will help to “preserve” the chili too.
2. Keep them in a glass jar sterilized with hot boiling water and then let the jar dry completely. This will helps to prolong shelf life
HOW TO STORE
REFRIGERATOR: This sambal can be kept in the fridge for up to 1 week or 2 weeks max in a sterilized jar
FREEZER: For longer storage, I recommend portioning the sambal into smaller portions and freeze them. They can be kept frozen for up to 3 months. So if you make the sambal in big bulk, this is the storing method you want to go for.
DID YOU MAKE THIS SAMBAL NASI LEMAK RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
How To Make The Best Nasi Lemak Sambal (For Real!)
Ingredients
- 100 gr red chilies you can use dried or fresh chilies
- 4 Thai red chili for extra spiciness, optional
- 1 large purple onion quartered
- 5 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 stalk lemongrass white parts only, cut into large chunks
- 20 gr dried anchovies
- 30 gr dried shrimp
- ½ cup cooking oil
Seasonings:
- 20 gr belacan or substitute with wet shrimp paste
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- 80 gr coconut sugar or more to taste. You can use brown sugar or white sugar too
- ½ tsp salt or more to tastse
Instructions
- If using dried chili, soak them in warm water until soft. Soak the dried shrimp in warm water until soft
- Pan fry the dried anchovies in 1 tsp of oil until crispy. Remove and set aside
- If you use dry belacan/terasi block, cut into smaller pieces and dry roast it on a dry pan for about 5 minutes until fragrant
- Place the chilies, onion, garlic, lemongrass, pan-fried anchovies, dried shrimp, and oil in a food processor and process into a fine paste
- Pour this into a pan and stir fry until the chili mixture for about 5 minutes. Add the seasoning and continue to stir fry for another 10-15 minutes until the oil starts to separate. The longer you cook, the longer they'll keep
- Have a taste and adjust to your taste by adding more coconut sugar as needed. The sambal is more on the sweet side. Let it cools down completely. Transfer to a glass container and they can be kept in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or portion them out into silicone ice cube trays and freeze them for one hour then transfer to a freezer bag. You can get one out and thaw in the fridge overnight before planning to use them
12 comments
My mum ran a tiny night market stall a long while back and tried to make sambal to go with the fried meehoon, which didn’t taste at all like Malay sambal. Seeing all the effort she put into making the sambal that didn’t taste like how we wanted it to be, made me quite sceptical of this recipe in the beginning. I was wrong, very wrong. I followed this recipe almost exactly (except for the amount of sugar, and I used brown sugar) and it tasted sooo good, really like the sweet spicy nasi lemak sambal I had back home. I made a large batch last year and I’ll make it again soon and with coconut sugar. Can’t wait to delight my tastebuds and to satisfy my craving again! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Aww…I’m so happy to read this! I’m so glad this met your standard and satisfied your craving 🙂 I bet it taste great with coconut sugar too for sure!!!! I love the sambal for nasi lemak too! Just give me a big o plate of plain rice with the sambal and I can polish the whole thing off LOL!