Sambal & Spice Pastes
Sambal Bawang Goreng (Fried Shallot and Garlic Chili Sauce) – Spicy, Savory, and Crispy, Perfect with Rice
Prep
15 min
Cook
15 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Sambal bawang goreng is a specialty sambal (Indonesian chili sauce) from Tegal-style food stalls and street-side angkringan vendors, known for being savory, spicy, and crispy thanks to a topping of crispy fried shallots and garlic. Its texture is coarse and slightly oily, making it a perfect match for fried chicken, tofu and tempeh, or simply warm steamed rice. The fiery kick from fried bird's eye chilies blends perfectly with the distinctive aroma of fried shallots and garlic.
🧂 Ingredients
🍽️ Servings: 4
Adjust the servings and the ingredient amounts & nutrition below update automatically.
- 150 grams red bird's eye chilies
- 50 grams curly red chilies
- 8 cloves shallots
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 cloves, thinly sliced shallots for topping
- 3 cloves, thinly sliced garlic for topping
- 1 medium-sized red tomato
- 1 tsp toasted shrimp paste (terasi)
- 1 tsp, finely shaved palm sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp (optional) chicken bouillon powder
- 150 ml cooking oil
- 1 fruit (optional, for a squeeze at the end) lime (jeruk limau)
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👩🍳 Instructions
- 1 Wash the bird's eye chilies, curly chilies, shallots, garlic, and tomato thoroughly. Drain well so there's no water clinging to them, to prevent splattering when frying.
- 2 Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the bird's eye chilies, curly chilies, shallots, garlic, and tomato together until softened and lightly browned, about 5-7 minutes. Remove and drain, but keep the leftover frying oil for later.
- 3 In the same oil, fry the sliced shallots and garlic for the topping over low heat until dry and golden crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels so they stay crisp.
- 4 Put the fried chilies and aromatics from step 2 along with the toasted shrimp paste into a mortar or blender. Grind or blend until slightly coarse—avoid making it too smooth so it still has some texture to bite into.
- 5 Add the palm sugar, salt, and bouillon powder to the ground sambal. Mix well and adjust the seasoning to taste.
- 6 Reheat 2 tbsp of the reserved frying oil, then pour it hot over the sambal while stirring to bring out more aroma and flavor.
- 7 Sprinkle the crispy fried shallots and garlic over the sambal. Add a squeeze of lime if you like a fresh, tangy touch. The sambal bawang goreng is ready to serve warm.
💡 Tips
• Use the leftover oil from frying the chilies and aromatics to sauté the sambal, so its rich, savory flavor isn't wasted.
• For an authentic Tegal-style texture, grind the sambal coarsely with a mortar and pestle—don't blend it too smooth.
• Fry the shallots and garlic for the topping separately over low heat so they dry out evenly without burning.
• This sambal can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days—just reheat briefly before serving.
📊 Nutrition Facts / serving
145 kkal
Calories (kcal)
2 gg
Protein
12 gg
Fat
8 gg
Carbs
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