There are few things more central to a Singaporean table than sambal. Sambal is a loose term used to refer to a chilli-based condiment in countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. In a spice-obsessed country such as Singapore, each hawker dish is paired with its sambal. Each sambal has its own unique blend of ingredients, but most have garlic, shallots and chillies as its backbone. For acidity, some employ the use of calamansi juice, others the sharp tang of vinegar.
Sambal tumis is a chilli paste that is fried in oil, and is an entirely different animal to the chilli condiments that are eaten raw. It is a thick jammy paste, its colour a deep red to reddish brown. Its bold, rich roasted flavour comes from the slow-caramelization of chilli and onions. It is to Singaporeans what nam prik pao (chilli jam) is to Thais, and its uses in the Singaporean household are manifold.
Fold through some deep-fried ikan bilis and it becomes a fitting accompaniment for nasi lemak. Hard boil some eggs, deep-fry them then roll them in the sambal. But my favourite way to eat sambal tumis is undoubtedly with seafood.
Growing up, my mother’s hack for putting food on the table quickly was this. She would smear a piece of fish with sambal tumis, roasted it in banana leaves. It is her riff on the iconic hawker dish sambal stingray. There isn’t any stingray where i live, but a flatfish such as flounder works beautifully as a substitute. And once you have sambal tumis in your fridge, it is a snap to make.
Sear the fish in an oiled pan until almost cooked. Smear the sambal on both sides before wrapping in banana leaves. Place the banana leaf package on the pan over low heat until the fish is cooked. Flip at least once so that both sides cook evenly. Unwrap the package at the table, scatter on thinly sliced red onions and squeeze lime juice over. If you want to make this truly sublime, serve with a dip made with with cincalok, lime juice and sliced red chillies. Pure heaven!
Sambal tumis:
Makes 2 medium sized jars
30g dried chillies
15g belacan
400g peeled red onions
50g cut fresh chillies
25g peeled garlic
40g white part of lemongrass, sliced
40g raw cashews or candlenuts
200g oil – if you skimp on the oil, you will get a dry and paste-like sambal
2 tbsp seedless tamarind pulp 50g gula melaka (or coconut sugar)
Salt to taste
Cut dried chillies in half and shake in a colander to remove seeds. Transfer to a boil and cover with boiling water. Allow to soak until completely soft. Meanwhile, crumble the belacan into a dry pan, and toast gently till aromatic. Blend belacan, shallots, chillies, garlic, lemongrass, candlenuts and dried chillies (squeeze to remove excess water) until a smooth paste forms.
Heat oil in a wok, pot or saucepan. Add the rempah and fry gently on low heat, stirring to fully combine. Continue cooking gently, stirring occasionally, until the paste starts to ooze oil. Add the tamarind pulp and cook further, for about 30 minutes, until the paste darkens considerably. Add gula melaka and continue cooking until the sugar completely melts. If, by this point, the paste has darkened in colour but has not split yet, add another generous ladle of oil and continue cooking on low heat. Season with salt (and more tamarind or sugar if necessary) to taste and transfer to a bowl or jars to store.
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