Name: Fermented Shrimp and Chili Paste (Julia’s Sambal Terasi)
Yield: Makes 2½ cups (600 ml)
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 4 Asian shallots or 2 European shallots, chopped; ½ lb (225 g) medium-hot finger-length red chilies, such as Fresno, cayenne, or serrano, seeded (optional) and chopped, or 1 cup (240 ml) sambal oelek; 1 teaspoon Terasi Bakar, 1 teaspoon anchovy paste, or 2 teaspoons fish sauce; 2 cloves garlic, smashed; 2 tablespoons shaved palm sugar or brown sugar, or to taste; 1 small red bell pepper, chopped; 2–10 red bird’s eye chilies or Thai chilies, stemmed (optional); 5 tablespoons (75 ml) vegetable oil, divided; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt, divided

Preparation info

Makes
2½ cups

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Mortar and Pestle

By Patricia Tanumihardja

Published 2024

About

I was an adult before I learned that the sambal terasi I had been eating most of my life was not the typical sambal terasi you’d find in a warung (traditional restaurant) in Indonesia. For one thing, traditional sambal terasi is usually made fresh to order and tends to be fiery hot! Julia’s version is technically a blend of sambal terasi and sambal bajak; the latter has a darker red color and is generally milder and sweeter compared to sambal terasi. This makes for a friend