Comments on Season with Spice: Spotlight on Spice: Can’t Live Without Sambal

Thanks Mick, good to hear from another person who ...

2013-02-21T15:40:33.826-08:00

Thanks Mick, good to hear from another person who "can't live without sambal"

Great to know another sambal lover. Don't we j...

2012-02-25T23:59:49.407-08:00

Great to know another sambal lover. Don't we just love how we can create so many dishes with the endless varieties of sambal? Truly a dynamic spice mix.

I love sambal and found that the home made version...

2012-02-25T18:18:51.792-08:00

I love sambal and found that the home made version was even better. I agree that it is all about blending your favourite ingredients together. There are no right or wrong, happy experimenting. I literally think of what I can eat or cook with the sambal. I love chillies and another reason to grow them. Nami, I think Japanese food is so fresh that it doesn't incorporate any spice or chillies.

I love sambal and found that the home made version...

2012-02-25T14:55:20.852-08:00

Very good question Nami. May be you’ll start a new...

2011-11-21T18:04:57.299-08:00

Very good question Nami. May be you’ll start a new trend in Japanese cuisine:) The sambal matah is from Ira of Cooking Tackle. She sure does take gorgeous pictures. Schedule your Asia trip to Indonesia & Thailand next, they are best places to shop. Some places in Malaysia also offers a great deal of handicrafts too.

Arudhi - not creepy at all..I have sambal flows in...

2011-11-21T08:14:42.617-08:00

Arudhi - not creepy at all..I have sambal flows in my veins too:) It’s almost like an addiction. You won't believe that Mark has that too. I think so long you can find the right substitutes, you can still whip up some good sambal. I'm sure you have come up with some interesting twist to the ingredients you can find in Japan.

Sambal is definitely a great way to use your lime ...

2011-11-19T05:03:38.143-08:00

Sambal is definitely a great way to use your lime leaves. If you still have leftover, use the lime leaves for tom yum, curry or stir fry with seafood. May be you can use them on your baking recipes for an Asian twist?:)

This is so wonderful!! I've been wondering wha...

2011-11-18T07:53:05.774-08:00

This is so wonderful!! I've been wondering what to do with lime leaves.

Nice!!! Creepily speaking, I can feel sambal flows...

2011-11-18T05:53:06.940-08:00

Nice!!! Creepily speaking, I can feel sambal flows in my vein :p I rarely find shallots here (or never, I think?), so I use red onion or regular onion instead. It seems like I started to forget how the fresh shallots taste like, but I still enjoy making sambal varieties with whatever ingredients I have here. And since fresh red chilies are not common here, I use dried chillies, cayenne, and Korean chili flakes (gochugaru) to compensate for the redness. I still proudly call it sambal, though :D Anyway, this post is incredible! And I`m hungry again!

Hi Nami, I had that "why no chili in Japan?? ...

2011-11-18T05:47:00.073-08:00

Hi Nami, I had that "why no chili in Japan?? why? why?" question since my first weeks here and I still don`t have the answer, lol. Please share with us when you finally know why :))

Let us know when you get a hand on homemade sambal...

2011-11-18T01:34:03.188-08:00

Let us know when you get a hand on homemade sambal, Rosa.

I believe it was the same in Malaysia where famili...

2011-11-18T01:33:30.905-08:00

I believe it was the same in Malaysia where families used to make fresh sambal everyday. But now that there is refrigerator, most people will just make a big batch and keep it for at least a week or more. I'm impressed to hear that your family still makes sambal fresh these day.

Oh yes, add that heat of sambal to nasi goreng. The nasi just taste even better!

Everyone should try your sambal matah!

2011-11-18T01:26:19.759-08:00

Everyone should try your sambal matah!

Tamara - hope you get to give sambal a try. A good...

2011-11-18T01:25:36.016-08:00

Tamara - hope you get to give sambal a try. A good way to start is to use chili peppers that you can find it Croatia & blend them with a food processor. Add some salt, sugar and a squeeze of lime juice. It's truly worth it! Even a Midwest boy like Mark can't live without sambal after he discovered the beauty of sambal:)

Japan is not that far from Southeast Asia, yet we ...

2011-11-17T00:38:48.567-08:00

Japan is not that far from Southeast Asia, yet we don't really have chili in our food. I wonder why... was the chili expensive item back then? I wonder why we never imported chili... even China and Korea use chili but we barely use chili in Japan. Very strange...I've never actually spent time thinking about it and now got me thinking. I love your Sambal Matah photo so much! I'm currently looking for wood plates/bowls just like you are using. It's hard to find them here, so I'm hoping I can score some in my next Asia trip...

Count me on that title. There is nothing better t...

2011-11-16T07:18:28.931-08:00

Count me on that title. There is nothing better than home made Sambal. I admire your photography and I always wanted to submit a recipe. One of these days, If I can come up with one that will be up to your standards. :)

Whoa! So many types of sambal to try out. Sambal b...

2011-11-15T05:58:44.696-08:00

Whoa! So many types of sambal to try out. Sambal bajak & matah are looking good...

2011-11-14T07:53:43.592-08:00

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

Can't agree more with this title! That is righ...

2011-11-14T06:40:19.993-08:00

Can't agree more with this title! That is right! I can't live without sambal. According Indonesian way, sambal should make fresh daily just like my family does. However, I don't have time to make sambal everyday, so I usually make it in a big batch and keep it in a jar for a month or so. Whenever I need sambal, I can have it right away. Whenever I want to make nasi goreng or other stir fry dishes, I can add a bit heat by adding sambal too :)

Lazy version of me.

What ever my food they should have sambal besides,...

2011-11-14T04:49:47.250-08:00

What ever my food they should have sambal besides, Sambal is like my breath...
bring a life to my daily homecooking :)
Reese, its a great post anyway

I love chili. In Croatia, we don't have sambal...

2011-11-14T03:21:20.854-08:00

I love chili. In Croatia, we don't have sambal, but do have chili powder and peppers.