Sambal Tomat(Spicy Javanese Tomato Sambal)

Sambal Tomat

I grew up eating sambal and still have the habit of using this condiment when I eat Asian dishes (especially Indonesian dishes).  It's basically, like the use ketchup in the US, Indonesians eat sambal with everything.

The description of sambal in wikipedia:

Sambal is a chili based sauce which is normally used as a condiment. Sambals are popular in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the southern Philippines and Sri Lanka, as well as in the Netherlands and in Suriname through Javanese influence. It is typically made from a variety of chili peppers and is sometimes a substitute for fresh chilis. It can be extremely spicy for the uninitiated. Some ready-made sambals are available at exotic food markets or gourmet departments in supermarkets in many countries.

The West has just incorporated sambal in their cooking.  The most popular one in the US that is used in Food Network TV and by well known chefs is Sambal Oelek.   Oelek means grinding or pounding. According to Wiki:  Oelek is a Dutch spelling which in modern Indonesian spelling has become simply ulek; both have the same pronunciation. Ulek is Indonesian special stoneware derived from common village basalt stone kitchenware still ubiquitous in kitchens, particularly in Java.

Traditionally, to make sambal, Javanese use a mortar and pestle like this one to grind or ulek the ingredients.

There are all kinds of sambals and this blog is only talking about one of the varieties, the vegetarian kind: sambal tomat (with tomatoes).  The basic ingredients of sambals are fresh hot red or green chillies, shallots, garlic, salt, and something sour like lime, lemon, tamarind, or vinegar and something sweet may be added, too.  Then, other ingredients are added to it which can be several vegetarian ingredients such as small eggplants, watercress, nuts, or fruit OR non-vegetarian ingredients such as shrimp, anchovies, or meat.  For example, I  blogged about Sambal 'Udang' ('Shrimp' Chili Paste) in the past (without the real shrimp, of course, but I added dulse flakes or nori flakes to create the 'seafoody' flavor).

Sambal Oelek is vegetarian but this is not the most popular kind in Indonesia.  The most popular sambal in Java is Sambal Terasi or Sambal Bajak.  Those contain terasi/belachan or shrimp paste.  If you are a vegetarian and would like to buy a bottle of sambal in an Asian market, please check the label for shrimp paste or anchovies first.



Sambal Tomat ingredients from left, clockwise: shallots, garlic cloves, tomatoes, New Mexico Chili (reconstituted), dark palm sugar, tamarind pulp, red Thai Chili (Bird's Eye chili), no shrimp paste.

I love making my own sambal instead of buying a bottle from the Asian market because it tastes better home made.  DH also prefers my home made sambal instead of the bottled Sambal Oelek.  I also don't have to worry about reading the label to find out if the sambal is vegetarian or not.  Also, to be honest, I admit that I cannot eat HOT or EXTREMELY SPICY sambal anymore.  The level of heat that I can take has reduced after years living in the US.  By making my own sambal, I can control how many chili I can put into the sambal.  Therefore, the recipe below is not that hot.  I added New Mexico or California Chili to retain the red hot color but they reduce the heat level.  It looks red and hot but it is not.    It is a little bit on the sweet side also because of the ripe tomatoes, New Mexico chili,  and dark palm sugar.

Sambal Tomat (Spicy Javanese Tomato Sambal)

2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes (about 2 to 3 tomatoes)
3 Dry New Mexico or California Chili
5 red Thai Peppers or Bird's Eye Chili  (add more to raise the heat level)
6 shallots, peeled
12 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. canola oil
2 Tbsp. palm sugar or dark brown sugar
1/2 inch cube tamarind pulp or juice of 1 small lime
1/8 tsp. white pepper
1 tsp. white miso (optional)

1. Remove the stems and seeds from the New Mexico or California chillies and then soak them in hot water.  Put a bowl on top to push down the chilis  (tend to float up) into the hot water so that they stay immersed.  This will take about 10-15 minutes.  Drain the softened chillies, but reserve the water.
2. Soak tamarind pulp into 1/4 hot water, set aside.
3. Chop the shallots, garlic, and Thai peppers into 1/4-inch pieces.  Be very careful when chopping Thai Chili by using gloves or wash your hands right away
4. Put chili, shallots, garlic, and salt in a mini chopper/food processor or a mortar and pestle.  If using a food processor, use the pulsing method.  The texture needs to be roughly chopped instead of smooth like a paste.  I like using a mortar and pestle  and pound the ingredients since it produces the roughly ground texture(ulek).  However, a food processor with pulsing method gives generally the same texture.



If you have a mortar and pestle, you can use it.  Otherwise, a food processor will do.


5. Using a wok or frying pan, on a medium heat, stir fry the ground chili, shallots, garlic, and salt  mixture with the canola oil.  Keep stirring the ingredients for about 10 minutes.  Be patience with this process since the long stir frying of spices is the key to delicious result.  If the mixture sticks to the pan, add a little of the reserved chili soaking water (not too much that the mixture is soupy).
6. Add the chopped tomatoes, again, stir fry for about 10 minutes until tomatoes are disintegrated.  Add just a little chili soaking water if the mixture sticks to the pan.

7. Add palm sugar/brown sugar, soften tamarind pulp (check seeds and remove) and the tamarind soaking water OR juice of 1small lime, and white pepper.  Combine and stir fry 5 more minutes until the mixture is thickened.  Taste for more salt if necessary.
8. Turn off heat and add the optional white miso.  The miso adds the fermented taste to sambal.  It adds more umami to the sambal, too.  Combine thoroughly.  Keep refridgerated for a week in a jar.

Sambal tomat is good to eat accompanying dry meals meaning a combination of fresh raw vegetables such as fresh sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, raw green beans,  raw cabbage wedges, lettuce pieces, etc. and steamed rice (nasi) plus some kind of  fried food such as fried tempeh, fried tofu, or traditionally fried meat or fish.    Eating raw vegetables with sambal and rice is called lalapan or nasi lalapan.  Then,  fried food is added to it.  The idea is to dip the fried food or fresh veggie into the sambal and then eat it with the steamed rice.  I served lalapan (with raw fresh veggies) with Nasi Gudeg as a dry meal in the previous blog.  DH loves lalapan with my fresh sambal tomat.  He is an American born who learned to enjoy Indonesian meals.

The tamarind block I bought from Asian market.  If it is wrapped in plastic tightly and store in a room temperature, it lasts many months.  Every time I need it, I just cut a small chunk and soak the pulp in a hot water.

Vegan Mini Rijstafel

Rijstafel

Rijstafel is a Dutch word meaning 'Rice Table.' Rijs is pronounced just like 'rice' and tafel rhymes with 'waffle'. It is an elaborate meal of Indonesian side dishes served with steamed rice in a grand buffet style. It is not like any buffet I have ever seen since this meal can be consumed for hours. Yes, hours, that is if you have the time to go through each item in a GRAND buffet of 20 – 40 side dishes. Really, those are the numbers of dishes served in a Rijstafel. It's much grander than Las Vegas buffet, isn't it?

Rijstafel was originated in Indonesia under the Dutch colonial ruling. The idea was to demonstrate a variety of Indonesian dishes using all kind of spices that were grown in Indonesia such as coriander, cumin, cloves, turmeric, pepper, cinnamon, etc. Indonesia was known as the ‘spice islands’ during this era. The Dutch exported these spices to Europe and other areas, so they want to boast the abundance of exotic spices and dishes to the visitors by serving them an elaborate meal with many samples of how the spices were used. Due to the long history of many traders from other countries who came and bought spices from the islands, the dishes have some influences from variety of cuisines such as Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, Arab, and the Dutch itself.

The Dutch ruled Indonesia for 350 years so they brought back rijstafel to the Netherland when the Japanese won the war in 1942 and occupied Indonesia. The people who moved back to the Netherland at that time also brought the tradition, cuisines, and culture of Indonesia with them. Therefore, rijstafel is much more popular in Amsterdam now than any where else in the world. Rijstafel is usually one of the most populer items in the menu at Indonesian restaurants in Amsterdam, a few of many: Puri Mas Rijstafel and Menu of Djawa Restaurant.

However, rijstafel is not popular in Indonesia. The tradition died down after so many years. Yeah, who wants to cook 20-40 dishes? You will not find it in restaurants in Indonesia. What I know is the mini rijstafel that we called Nasi Rames (pictured) that my family serves during a gathering or birthday party. It is actually a miniscule version of a rijstafel on a plate. Instead of 20-40 side dishes, I only cooked 5-6 dishes. Ok, ok, you may call it a micro rijstafel. The dishes are served on top of steamed white rice on a plate for one person. Although, any Indonesian dish is good to be served with steamed rice, it is best if the dishes compliment each other. For example, the plate should contain at least one spicy dish, one on the sweeter side, one curry type (coconuty), one that is sour and refreshing, one that is ‘seafoody', one or two condiments, and something crunchy.

I veganized the Indonesian dishes with TVPs and tempeh or tofu to replace the meat and seafood. The most difficult to detect in Indonesian dishes in restaurants is the use of shrimp paste, which is called trasi in Indonesian language. Although, the restaurants in Netherland serve vegetarian rijstafel, I am not sure if they are excluding trasi in their dishes. You will have to ask them specifically when you order.

On the plate above, I served steamed rice with Javanese Stir Fried Tempeh, Sambal “Udang”(“Shrimp” Chili Paste) ,Perkedel Jawa(Javanese Potato Patties) , Sambal Goreng(Vegetables in Chili Paste and Coconut Sauce), Acar Kuning(Indonesian Vegetables Pickles), Serundeng(Roasted and Spiced Grated Coconut) and Emping(not shown) as something crunchy.

 

Javanese Stir Fried Tempeh

Javanese Stir Fried Tempeh
Serve 8
Printable Recipe

2 large pieces tempeh, cut in cubes, about 12 - 14 oz.
1/2 cup edamame
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup shallots, sliced thin
1 slice galanga or ginger
1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, sliced thin
3 red/green serano chilies, seeded, sliced thin
2 tsp canola oil

Sauce:
2/3 cup Tamarind water (I used a walnut size of tamarind pulp soaked in a 2/3 cup warm water)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Sugar
3 tbsp Kecap Manis or Substitution

1. Preheat oven to 400 F while you are preparing the rest of ingredients. Spray a non-stick baking pan with oil and baked tempeh pieces for 15 minutes. The tempeh will become dry and brown. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Stir fry garlic and shallots for 2 minutes in medium high heat.
3. Add laos/ginger, green or red bell pepper and green chillies for 3 minutes. Add fried tofu or tempeh, kecap manis, and 1/3 cup water, stir fry for 3 minutes. Add salt, sugar, and tamarind water and mix well. Continue to cook for 15 minutes until the sauce soaked to the tofu or tempeh. Add more water if necessary but not too much. The dish shoud be moist but not watery. Finally add the edamame and mix well for 3 to 5 minutes.

Nutrition Facts:
Nutrition (per serving): 139.6 calories; 39% calories from fat; 6.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 551.6mg sodium; 396.6mg potassium; 12.5g carbohydrates; 1.3g fiber; 3.0g sugar; 11.3g net carbs; 10.6g protein; 3.1 points.

Sambal "Udang"

Vegan Sambal "Udang" ("Shrimp" Chili Paste)
Servings: 8
Printable Recipe

2 cups dry ground TVP
1 tbsp low-salt 'chicken' broth powder or seasonings (Bill's Best Chik'nish)
1 tbsp dulse granules
2 tsp canola oil
1 large Nori sheet, cut into small pieces or flakes
2 tsp brown sugar or sugar
3 tbsp Tamarind water
1 tsp Salt or 1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt or to taste, optional

Sambal Ingredients:
6 cloves garlic
6 cloves shallots
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
3 dry red chilies, stemmed, seeded
1 large dry California or New Mexico Chili, stemmed, seeded
Tips: the use of California or New Mexico chili reduces the heat/spiciness of the dish. If you don't like hot and spicy food, you can replace the 3 dry red chilies with a New Mexico chili. The dish will be red and looks hot but it won't be.

1. Soak the ground TVP in a 1 3/4 cup warm water to reconstitute it. Add 1 tbsp. dulse granules and 'chicken' broth powder, mix it well. Set aside for at least 20 minutes while you are preparing the other ingredients.
2. Soak dry chilies in warm water for 10-15 minutes. Use a mini food processor, grind garlic, shallots, ginger, and chilies(sambal ingredients) into a paste. Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle to pound the sambal ingredients into a paste.
   
3. Preheat wok into a high heat. Lower heat to medium, add canola oil. Stir fry sambal paste in oil for 5 minutes. 
   
4. Add soaked TVP ground mixture. Mix well for 1 minute. Add nori flakes, brown sugar or sugar, tamarind water or lemon juice, and vegetarian fish sauce or soy sauce. Mix well for 5 minutes. Taste for saltiness and add salt if necessary. 

Nutrition Facts:Nutrition (per serving): 283.9 calories; 6% calories from fat; 2.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 352.1mg sodium; 1070.1mg potassium; 57.2g carbohydrates; 0.3g fiber; 2.6g sugar; 56.9g net carbs; 14.7g protein; 5.8 points.

Perkedel

Vegan Javanese Potato Patties (Perkedel Jawa)

Servings: 8

Printable Recipe

These potato patties are adaptation of Dutch Frikadels. The original recipe uses eggs but I managed to use chickpea flour to glue the potatoes and other ingredients together. Some people make these patties spicy, Javanese style, and use full flavor spices like chillies, coriander and cumin. These spices can be omitted to resemble the original recipe. It is a matter of taste.

I also pan fry the patties instead of deep frying to maintain my lower fat diet. The picture above is the result of pan frying. Of course, these patties are better deep fried.

Ingredients:

1 lb Russet potatoes 2 clove garlic
6 clove shallots
1/2 cup dry ground TVP
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 tbsp Kecap Manis
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar or palm sugar (gula jawa)
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chickpea flour (garbanzo flour)

oil for deep frying or oven frying

Javanese Style (optional):  2 tsp ground coriander seed
1 tsp ground cumin seed
3 dried red chillies or 1 teaspoon sambal oelek

1. Soak the 3/4 cup dry ground TVP in a 3/4 cup hot water to reconstitute it. Soak the dry red chillies, if using, in hot water. Let both sit for at least 10 minutes.
2. Steam the potatoes (unpeeled) until tender (about 40 minutes in a steamer) or steam it in a microwave (follow the timetable from manufacturer's instructions). I used my pressure cooker for 7 minutes on high and then quickly release the pressure. Carefully, remove the peel from the hot steamed potatoes. The peel should come off very easily. Let it cool slightly but make sure that they are still somewhat warm when they are mashed.
3. While the potato is steaming, using a mortar and pestle or a mini food processor, pound the peeled garlic and shallots until it become a paste (process in the food processor for a minute). For Javanese style, add red chillies or sambal oelek and continue pounding or mixing it to a paste.  
4. Stir fry the paste in 2 tsp. oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan for about 5 minutes on a medium heat.
5. In a large bowl, mash the potato with a potato masher or pestle until smooth like making mashed potato. Add the reconstituted ground TVP, the garlic, shallots, and chili paste, ground nutmeg, sugar, and salt. Add the chopped celery. Combine the lemon juice and kecap manis, then, add it to the bowl. For Javanese style, add the ground coriander and cumin seeds also.
6. With your clean hand, mix everything thoroughly making sure there is no more potato chunks.
7. Add the chickpea flour to the bowl, mix to form a dough. The mixture will start to firm up and will stick to your hand. You can put a little oil on your hand so the dough will not stick. Form a ball the size of a golf ball and then flatten it between your hands. The recipe makes about 24 flattened balls.
8. Heat oil about 1-inch deep in a deep frying pan until it reaches 350 F. Deep fry the patties until golden brown. Alternative method for low fat: Pan fry patties on a non-stick frying pan sprayed with oil.

Nutrition Facts (pan fried):Nutrition (per serving): 113.0 calories; 8% calories from fat; 1.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 394.1mg sodium; 433.1mg potassium; 21.3g carbohydrates; 2.4g fiber; 3.7g sugar; 18.9g net carbs; 5.6g protein; 1.9 points.

Tips: For a short cuts, I sometimes use store bought Indonesian fried onions (brambang goreng) instead of shallots but this will add the fat content too.