Chile-Lime Sauce

Name: Chile-Lime Sauce (Sambal Oelek)
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: Makes about ¾ cup
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 1 cup hot fresh chiles, preferably red, stemmed, seeded, and minced; 1 cup hot fresh chiles, preferably red, stemmed, seeded, and minced; 1 teaspoon fresh lime juice; 6 garlic cloves, minced, optional; 1 tablespoon sugar, or to taste; 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste; ½ teaspoon finely grated lime zest

Sambal Oelek

Preparation info

Makes about
¾ cup

Difficulty
Easy
Ready in
25 min

Appears in

The Best Recipes in the World

By Mark Bittman

Published 2005

About

Sambal is the generic name given to sauces in Indonesia, and this is the most basic. Nuts, coconut, dried shrimp, sugar, garlic, and other seasonings are often added before using this as a condiment for noodle, rice, and other dishes. If you want a really fiery sambal, leave in the chile seeds.

Ingredients

1 cup hot fresh chiles, preferably red, stemmed, seeded, and minced
6 garlic cloves, minced, optional

Asia
Indonesia
Sauce
South East Asia
Vegan
Gluten-free

Method

Use a mortar and pestle or a food processor to blend the chiles, garlic, lime juice, salt, and sugar into a paste. Use a spatula to transfer the mixture to a container with a lid.
Stir in the lime zest; add more salt if you like. Serve or cover and refrigerate; this will keep for 2 to 3 weeks. (Bring back to room temperature before serving.)