Sambal - Chili Paste From Hell - er, Indonesia
Sambal, it’s the daily condiment in Indonesia. Sambal is a “relish” made of chilis. I watched grown men cry while eating, still heaping on more sambal. Yes, even though they eat it daily, they, too, break into a sweat, their eyes water, their noses run, and they drink lots of water or sweet tea to wash it down.
The most common, sambal ulek (OO-luk) is made by chopping up fresh red chilis, much hotter than jalapenos, and grinding them to a paste, seeds and all, on a flat lava stone grinder, using a hard shaped rock to make sure the seeds are thoroughly pulverized. It may include shallots, garlic, and salt.
Other sambals are made of sliced green chilis with peteh beans - which have a rather, err, distictive flavor, something of an acquired taste. You can sometimes find Sambal Peteh or the Peteh themselves at Indonesian and Dutch markets, or specialty seasoning shops.
You can find jars of chili paste at the supermarket sometimes. I found some Vietnamese chili paste in the “International Foods” aisle of my local Safeway and tastes alot like sambal ulek.
One of my favorite sambals is Sambal Bajak