Cuisine:

Indonesian

Sambal is such a versatile accompaniment and, when you try this recipe, I’m sure you'll never use store-bought sambal again. Stored in the fridge, this will keep for several weeks.

Ingredients

6-8 fresh chillies
1x 2cm piece of ginger
2 cloves of garlic
1 lemongrass root, finely chopped
Zest of 1 lime
50ml white vinegar
Coarse salt
½ cup white sugar

Preparation

Chop the ginger, garlic and lemongrass into the mortar and add the chillies and half of the lime zest, keeping the other half aside for later.

Crush the ingredients together in the mortar. Gradually add the vinegar.

Add a pinch of salt and continue pounding. The salt will assist to break down the other ingredients.

Taste the mix to ensure you are happy with the combination of sweet, sour, salty and hot flavours. Add additional amounts of the ingredients as required to balance the taste to your liking.

Add the mix to a cold pan. Place the pan over high heat. Be careful not to let the flame come up around the sides of the pan (this will burn the edges).

Mix the sambal with a wooden spoon as it heats.

Add the sugar. This will caramelise the mix and bring the flavours together.

Cook, over medium heat, for 10 minutes or until the mixture is pulpy.

When the mix is almost done, add the remaining lime zest. Cook for a further 90 seconds.

Serve the sambal hot or cold, as an accompaniment to just about any dish.

Note: You’ll need a good mortar and pestle, which are widely available – you can also buy one from Peter's website.