How to make sambal

Ingredients

• large handful chili peppers of your choice (we've used bird's eye chili/rawit)
• 3 small (yellow) madame jaenette (for a milder sambal you can use less or no madame jeanette)
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• about 3 cm ginger root
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (or use a different type, or lemon juice)
• large dash of neutral oil (e.g. sunflower oil)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• large pinch of salt

Kitchen equipment needed

• mortar and pestle or blender
• cutting board & chef's knife
• medium-sized skillet
• sterile jar with lid (you can easily boil the pot and lid a few minutes in boiling water)

Making sambal -- 15 minutes

Heat a dash of oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Chop the ginger in chunks and add them to the warm oil and let it simmer for a few minutes. This way the oil will absorb the ginger flavour. Remove the ginger and add the pepper, garlic and onion paste to the oil. Let it simmer for a few minutes before you also add salt, sugar and vinegar.

After another few minutes the sambal is done, transfer it as hot as possible into the sterile jar and put the lid on. The sambal can be kept for at least one month. Enjoy!