Sambal Bajak

By their very nature, all sambals should be slightly fiery on the palate. Because it is a cooked preparation, this sambal is more gentle, relatively speaking, than the raw varieties (sambal olek) that are commercially available. Sambal bajak includes, onions for sweetness and shrimp paste and tamarind for sourness and depth of flavour. Used mainly in Indonesian cooking and popular with rice dishes such as Nasi Goreng, it is made with the milder, large Lombok or Chinese chillies. Any sambal preparation can be served as a condiment or an accompaniment to a main dish, where its piquancy lifts the flavour of the food. Having a range of sambals at hand means that you can transform ordinary food in a flash. Like chilli jam, this sambal is partnered by and compatible with other pastes throughout this book.