Sunday 9 July 2017

Sambal Jate. Awesome Habis!


This is the fastest that I tried a recipe after seeing it on a blog. Thanks to LiNa_Pg I learnt about a sambal that I never heard of before. 

Apparently this is a Kelantan sambal and I am surprised that I never knew about this sambal even though I come from neighboring Terengganu

I was excited about this sambal because, well, I haven't had much appetite lately and I needed something to perk me up. I know. I heard someone say "Oi, PH. Isn't losing appetite good for you? Aren't you trying to lose weight?".

True true. But I love eating. If I can't eat or enjoy my food, it's like something is missing from my life. Yes,  I probably need therapy too, but for now, I will indulge in what I love best and that is to eat hee..hee..

This sambal is made of red chillies, onion, calamansi limes and seasoned with vinegar, salt and sugar.



Lina's recipe uses 25 red cili padi and 2 regular red chilies. Did you hear that? 25 red cili padi. It must be that red cili padi, you know, the one that can burn your tongue and send you flying through the roof. No, I cannot tahan that cili padi.

So I used only the red regular chilies and added 4 green cili padi instead. Coward. 

I also used red onion instead of the yellow Holland onion because that's what I had in the kitchen.



I put the ingredients into the blender and whizzed away. Then the blended sambal was poured into a bowl to be seasoned with vinegar, salt and sugar.

You need to do this cautiously by adding a bit at a time because you don't want it too salty, too sour or too sweet. Adjust to your own taste, as advised by Lina.



I managed to make 3/4 of a bottle. After tasting and adjusting, I found the taste of this sambal very pleasing - hot, sour, sweet and salty with the fantastic aroma of limau kasturi.

Though as Lina mentioned in her post, the overall taste in the beginning may feel unbalanced and there was a slight bitter taste. In fact I could taste the vinegar and I thought I should not have added so much.

According to Lina, let this sambal sit for a few hours and the taste will improve and it gets better and better as it sits. That sounds great and I stashed my bottle of sambal into the fridge for the flavors to develop.



And true enough, the following day when I ate meehoon goreng with this sambal, whoa! It was da bomb! I could have eaten the whole kuali of meehoon goreng with this sambal.

If you somehow feel inclined to make this into a sambal belacan, feel free to do so but leave out the vinegar and go easy with the salt. I bet this would make a kick ass sambal belacan on account of the limau kasturi (calamansi limes), skin and all.

Here's my adaptation of Lina's recipe. There are no hard and fast rules, just go with the flow.

Sambal Jate
Recipe source : Adapted from Teratak Mutiara Kasih

Ingredients :
- 8 red chilies
- 4 green cili padi
- 1 big onion (I chose a smallish one)
- 12 limau kasturi (mine were very small, that's why I added more)
- 3 level tsp sea salt (you may need less if using regular salt)
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- 3 tbsp distilled/white vinegar

Method :
1. Cut the limau kasturi into halves and remove the seeds.
2. Put red chilies, cili padi, limau kasturi, onion and 2 tbsp vinegar into a blender and blend.
3. Pour the blended ingredients into a bowl and season with salt, sugar and more vinegar, if necessary.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings. This sambal must be sweet, sour and salty.
5. Store in an air tight container and keep in the fridge.

Note : I added vinegar into the blender so that the liquid would help work the blades. Lina recommends not to add water in order for the sambal to keep well.


29 comments:

  1. Oh this sambal doesn't have belacan in it so no busuk busuk (the appetising busuk) smell la but I like limau kasturi so must be tasty. Guess it tastes bitter in the beginning due to the skin of the limau. Since you didn't use the red chili padi, I think I can tahan this sambal by eating a bit of it.

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    1. This sambal tasted fantastic after sitting overnight. It's not that hot, so you can enjoy it :)

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  2. Alamak.

    My saliva all come out looking at the sambal.

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  3. Wah..pantasnya PH cuba..
    Sambal ni tahan lama..boleh simpan dalam peti ais..lagi lama lagi mesra dan makin sedap

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    1. Lina, tak sabar2 PH cuba. Memang sedap!

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  4. Wish i stay nearby you, i can order from you...

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    Replies
    1. Let me advise you not to dream anymore like me. She won;t bat an eyelid no matter how I go down on my knees to beg for a cookie from PH. Sobs!

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    2. TM is right. Wahahaha!!

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  5. I would love that...anytime!

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  6. Look like sambal belacan, but no add belacan la plak.

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  7. You give a very good testimony 😁
    Now I can't wait to try hehe...

    Who doesn't love food? Keep on eating good & delicious food. I am sure you know how to keep your health on track right?

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    Replies
    1. Try it! Very sedap and makes me want to eat more and more hah..hah..

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  8. This looks like the sambal I had with Nasi Goreng Ayam Kunyit. That one was so fiery I assume it was made with cili api (luckily you replaced yours with red chillies)! I think the slight bitter taste came from the pith of the limau kasturi since you blended them whole. I've eaten fresh chilli sauce (from roasted meat stalls) that have little specks of green which gives out a very fragrant aroma but some do have a slight bitterness to it. Probably that's why westerners use only the lemon/lime zest and the cooking shows always remind us not to zest too deep so as not to reach the white pith.

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    1. Thankfully, after sitting overnight, the bitterness disappeared. It tasted so good then. Oh yes, those chili sauce at roasted meat stall or some chicken rice stalls contain limau kasturi and I really love it!

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  9. Hi Phong Hong, you sambal look good, very appetizing. Currently we harvest lots of chili padi....so ngam lah I can make this sambal. I kept several kind of sambal in the fridge and eat according to what of dishes or fish. LOL

    Have a nice day and enjoy your makan mania.
    Amelia

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    1. Hi Amelia! Oh yes, you have your own fresh organic supply. Lagi best!

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  10. Whoaa!! This sambal is good and suitable for my wife who is allergic to seafood. She cannot eat belacan cos got prawns inside. I want to make this and surprise her. Kamsiah hamida!

    #sambalLetup #PedasMati #MouthSureExplode #EatOwnRisk

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    1. Eh, I got new name, Hamida? hee..hee.. Make this sambal for your wifey. She sure love it!

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  11. Now salivating cos of the lime.. can imagine the shiokness... especially with fried meehoon.. and anything soupy too!

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  12. I am interesting and I want to make some too. Drooling!

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    1. Do make some, I bet you will love it!

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  13. Hi PH, may I know how long will this sambal keep in the fridge? Coz I only have a very small household, just the 2 of us. So I guess it would take long time for us to finish it....

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    1. Hi Lily! I reckon about a week should be OK. The vinegar and salt acts as a preservative. Or you could consider making a smaller amount.

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