Wednesday 6 March 2013

Tomato Sambal


My mum once told me that my dad mentioned that when he was young, his family used to eat sambal belacan with tomatoes. The fresh tomatoes were pounded together with the sambal belacan. It sounded strange to me at the time. A few years later, I bought Kak Liza's book "Senangnya Memasak....Sambal & Sos" and I found a recipe for Sambal Tomato. That must be the sambal that Pa was telling Mummy about.


It is simple to prepare. Just make your usual sambal belacan and towards the end, add tomato wedges and pound it with the sambal belacan. It does get watery, so gently does it. I decided to try this sambal out of curiosity and I used my family sambal belacan recipe. My grandma and my mum add shallots to our sambal belacan. Another thing we add is a bit of sugar as we like our sambal belacan a little bit sweet. This is a characteristic of people who come from Terengganu and Kelantan.


I wasn't sure if I should use ripe or semi-ripe tomatoes as Kak Liza didn't mention it in her recipe. I decided on semi-ripe and I guess it does not really matter. And I hauled my  family heirloom out of storage, the good ole Lesung Batu (mortar and pestle) which my mum gave me. My goodness, it was very heavy! I haven't pounded sambal belacan for a long time, opting to use the blender instead. This time, I wanted to do it the good old fashioned way. I toasted the belacan first over the stove and pounded it with the chillies and onions (I used a big onion instead of shallots). When the sambal was almost done, I added the tomato wedges. All I did was just to bruise the tomatoes. 


Before serving, I squeezed the juice from one lime into the tomato sambal. Even before I added the lime juice, the sambal was already a little bit sour from the tomatoes. But I still added the lime juice because what is sambal belacan without the fragrance of lime? I used limau nipis instead of limau katuri because I prefer it's stronger aroma.

Verdict? It was really good! The tomatoes added a lot of bite and flavour to the sambal. Besides, I appreciate that sambal belacan pounded by hand tastes and smells way better that the one prepared in a blender. It is very true, this sambal belacan was excellent, worth the trouble and effort. If you are one of those people who can't live without your sambal belacan, I highly recommend this tomato sambal.

Serve the tomato sambal with extra tomato wedges which are not pounded.
I love this sambal a lot and I will definitely make it more often. And you can be sure that I will use my lesung batu more often now :)









Tomato Sambal
Recipe Source : Adapted from Senangnya Memasak....Sambal & Sos by Chef Hanieliza

Ingredients :
- 6 red chillies
- 1 big onion (or 5 shallots)
- 2 small semi ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
- 1 inch belacan (toast this for more fragrance if you can)
- Juice from 1 lime or to taste (I used limau nipis)

Method :
1. Pound belacan, chillies and onion until fairly fine.
2. Add tomato wedges and pound to bruise the tomatoes.
3. Add lime juice before serving.




This post is linked to the event, Little Thumbs Up organised by Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY and Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids.

60 comments:

  1. Phong Hong, this looks like a great quick way to create a sort of spicy tomato salsa. Hope life is treating you well. Cheers

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    1. Hi Carole! This is very spicy stuff, much stronger than salsa. Hope you are well too!

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  2. Hi Phong Hong,

    I didn't know that tomato can enhance the texture of the belacan sambal so well. I wish to make this for my husband too.

    Zoe

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    1. Zoe, this is a new discovery for me. I am sure you and your husband will like it!

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  3. Looks very sedap.did you add a few chilli padi like I always do.Hot Hot lagi sedap.I got lots of tomatoes will try it but not now as I am not feeling well.It will be very nice to eat with genang ikan.fry the fish till garing garing think of it just make my mouth water.

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    1. EE, oh I cannot than if got chilli padi. Ya lah must fry fish until garing-garing and eat with this sambal. Banyak sedap!

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  4. Fusion. Usually, I'd have cucumber with sambal and tomato with salad dressing.

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    1. Arthur, you should try this sometime. It's quiet good :)

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  5. I can imagine eating this with some fried fish...yumm. I miss using my batu lesung. The mover packed them up when we move and I can find me base but can't find the penumbuk :(

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    1. Gertrude, this goes fantastic with fried fish. Alamak they lost your penumbuk. Nothing beats the lesung batu for preparing sambal and spice paste but it is tiring :)

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  6. Hi Phong Hong, I love sambal belachan with tomato. I used to add tomato in my sambal belachan, it sure got extra kick and ohmmmm. Need extra rice too, so how to diet? LOL

    By the way have you try Psyllium husk? You can get it from organic store. Good for people like us who enjoy eating but hard to go on diet.
    Mix 1 teaspoon of psyllium husk powder with 1/4 cup hot water, stir till powder dissolve then add cool boiled water. Drink immediately and follow by a glass of warm water in the morning before breakfast. Take your breakfast half an hour later if you're hungry, if not tea or coffee will do. Lunch and dinner as usual but eat in moderate amount.

    It can help to cleanse our colon and reduce cholesterol. Improve complexion and maintain your youth too. Eventually your weight will drop too. But remember need patience cos you won't see the result immediately. Your can drink everyday or alternate day but in the morning when you wake up.

    Have a nice day, regards.

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    1. Amelia, thanks for the tips. Actually my psylliun husk is hibernating in my cupboard. Hah! Hah! It is quiet horrible tasting so I find it difficult to drink. But I do it once in a while for detox and cleansing. This sambal belacan and tomato really got kick! I love it a lot and will have more often. You discovered it much sooner than I did :)

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  7. I bet this must be super yummy ~ good to have this with the fried fish. In fact, this is my first time heard of putting the tomato in the sambal to pound together. Will try this one day as my family members are tomatoes lovers!

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    1. Mel, it is yummy and makes other food yummy too. Try it and you will love it!

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  8. Tomato sambal looks so yummy and tempting...love to try this.

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    1. Vidya, it is really special tasting. I am in love with it now!

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  9. Phong Hong, ini sambal tomato banyak sedap! Lihat pun syok! :)

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    1. Li Shuan, this one betul-betul syiok! Can tambah nasi if eating with this sambal :)

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  10. uuuhhhh phong hong.....i love this!!

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    1. GK, you must try this sambal! Guarantee you will eat extra rice hah! hah!

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  11. Phong Hong,
    Ohhh!!!! Sambal tomato makes me salivating la!
    I love to pound my shallots or chillies or ginger with lesung batu too. I find it is nicer and I only need to wash 2 parts that is the pestle and the mortar whereas the blender I need to wash more parts :p

    I am glad you link your sambal tomato post to LTU.
    Thanks dear!
    mui

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    1. mui mui, glad you like this sambal. You have to try it because it is really good. I am lazy to pound using lesung batu. My hand very tired LOL!

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  12. Hi Phong Hong,
    This looks so good! I am into anything spicy! I have never tried making sambal belacan with tomatoes, but have always used belimbing, very nice too! Will give this a try one day!

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    1. Hi Joyce, I used to love sambal belacan with belimbing. Tomato is a good substitute. Do try it and I am very sure you will love it!

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  13. Sambal looks so delightful and yummy

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  14. Malaysian version of Salsa? Am into Pico de Gallo these few days... perhaps should add toasted belacan and some chili... Wonders if your sambal goes well with Tortilla chips? haha... Fusion indeed...

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    1. I think it might be too hot for Tortilla chips but can try lah. Nice to colek-colek.

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  15. Oh gosh, this looks amazing! Never heard of tomato sambal... and it sounds so lovely. I want to eat it with vegetables, fish, rice etc...

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    1. Mich, it is a great condiment. Will go well with vege (cooked or raw) and fried fish.

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  16. hmmm.. yumyum..
    pernah juga i buat sambal belacan & letak tomato sebagai ganti jus limau... mmg sdp..

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    1. Sedap kan? PH baru aje kenal dengan sambal tomato. Macam dah jatuh cinta hee..hee...

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  17. I always love reading your recipes, they are so unusual for me!
    Blog about life and travelling
    Blog about cooking

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    1. Thank you, Ola. Same here, I also learn new stuff from you!

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  18. Huwaaaa sedapnya sambal tomato tu dear PH!! Hehehe ;)

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    1. Sri, this one is so sedap when you taste it you will get up and dance! Hee..hee...

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  19. This makes me drool big time! I can eat only this sambal & rice alone !2 plates of rice please! LOL

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    1. Kit, you are right! I am like that too, just sambal and rice is good enough :)

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  20. mmm.... spicy just how I love my food!!!

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    1. That's how I love my food too, Francesca!

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  21. Tomato sambal sounds special and new to me. Looks so yummmyyyyyy!!!!

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    1. Esther, if you have a chance do try it. It is very appetizing!

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  22. Hi Phong Hong, this is very good. I think it would be great for ppl like me who cannot take super spicy food, the tomatoes should be very appetizing too.

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    1. Baby Sumo, you can de-seed the chillies and it will be less spicy. The tomato really enhance the taste of the sambal.

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  23. Hello PH.
    Malam malam lapar nasi tau bila nampak sambal belacan begini .Cm memang masukkan buah tomato dlm sambal belacan.Jika tak habis makan boleh di jadikan rencah nasi goreng.....fulamak pengsan hehe

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    1. Sedap kan, CM? Oh, kalau macam tu PH pun nak try buat nasi goreng pakai leftover sambal. Sure sedap habis!

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  24. Wah, the 1st thing I notice is the big sign of the "Little Thumbs Up," haha! Looks like we are going to see many tomato dishes in the next few weeks! This tomato sambal sounds like a very interesting recipe to me, really, 1st time of hearing it. Must be very special!

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    1. Jessie, tomatoes are beautiful to look at and nice for our dishes. I am looking forwards to learning more recipes using tomatoes. Your prawn with tomato dish very ho chiak loh! It will go well with my tomato sambal hah! hah!

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  25. Hi Phong Hong, I too inherited a lesong from my mom and it's been sitting in my wet kitchen but I never got round to using it:P Your sambal looks very fresh....maybe I'll be hardworking and do some arms workout with it soon lol!

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    1. Jeannie, you should pound your sambal using the lesung batu and see the difference in taste and aroma!

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  26. Love this! Can go well with lots of rice! Remind me of seeing in one of my Malay cookbook recipe. Will try to make it.

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    1. Vivian, hope you try this sambal because it is very shiok!

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  27. HelloOooooo My Dear.... ayoooooo.... lama tak singgah sini.. sangat busy dengan kerja.. but today i datang sini because itu sambal tomato.. buat i punya mata, mulut, hidung meleleh... tak tahan ley.. sangat kecur!!!!!!!!! SlurPPpppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp... sambal belacan or any type of sambals.. memang ada tiap hari atas meja.. sebab tu i susah nak diet.. sebab ada sambal belacan hahahaa...:) Good day!

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    1. Hellooooo...my dear Shahriah! You ni dah lama menghilang ye? Itu lah, orang pemes memang sibuk tiap-tiap hari kan? Anyways, thank you lah Shahriah meluangkan masa hari ni menjenguk I punya dapur. I takde ape nak offer, cuma sambal je. Sambal dengan nasi je pun boleh lah kan? hee..hee...

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  28. Hi PH! The tomato definitely adds sweetness and balances the sambal very well. Not sure though if it can last as long... I would like to try this.

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    1. Alvin, you mean if the sambal can keep? Well, it is better to make just enough for a meal or add the tomatoes just before serving. I usually make the normal sambal belacan (that is the chillies, onions and belacan) and store in the fridge for a week to ten days. I only add lime juice and sugar before serving. I guess it would be alright to just chop the tomatoes and add it in instead of pounding it.

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  29. oh, i am sure will love this sambal, enjoy with grilled fish sure very yummy!

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    1. Sonia, if eat with grilled fish sure will kah fan!

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  30. tomatoes in samabal belachan? wow! another new discovery! come to think about it , the combination doesnt sounds really weird and if you say sedap, i do believe that it is truly sedap!!

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