As every year at this time I am making raw condiments that can be used at the summer cookouts, garden parties, and barbecues. Raw condiments are perfect whether you are raw, vegan, or omnivore. Let me share with you a rather exotic recipe for the raw, vegan Sambal Matah Bali, a rather spicy sauce that you can serve not only with raw burgers, but also with roasted vegetables, steamed rice and as a condiment for anything off the grill.
I am aware that you might have trouble finding all the ingredients. This Balinese recipe calls for fresh lemongrass, kafir lime leaves and kafir or calamasi limes. I could not find the required limes and used a regular organic lime instead. There is no replacement for the kafir lime leaves. They have an absolutely unique fragrance and flavor. Ask your Asian grocer for fresh or frozen leaves. The dried ones are not good for this recipe.
Some recipes call for shrimp paste. I am making a vegan version of Sambal Matah Bali that is just perfect without it.
Ingredients:
- 6-8 shallots
- 2 garlic cloves
- 4-6 bird's eye chili peppers or any other red, hot peppers (use more or less)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, only the thick, white bottom parts
- 1-2 kafir lime leaves (fresh or frozen and thawed)
- freshly pressed juice of 1/2 lime (juice of 2-3 kafir limes if have some)
- 1 tbsp unrefined coconut blossom sugar
- 1 Tbsp gently melted virgin coconut oil
- pinch Celtic sea salt to taste
Gather all the ingredients. You will need a cutting board, sharp knife and a mixing bowl. You may want to use food safe kitchen gloves.
Method:
- Peel the shallots and cut them into thin slices. You should get about 1 cup. Transfer to the sliced shallots into a mixing bowl.
- Peel the garlic cloves and mince them. Add to the bowl with sliced shallots.
- Slice the chili peppers into thin slices. Keep the seeds if you want your Samabal Matah to be very hot, otherwise discard them. Use as many chili peppers as you can handle. Add the sliced chili peppers to the bowl with shallots and garlic.
- Cut off the hard bottoms of the lemongrass stalks and remove the dry outer layers. Using a very sharp knife, slice the lemongrass into very thin slices. You should get about 4 Tbsp of sliced lemongrass. Transfer the sliced lemongrass to the bowl with all the other ingredients.
- Cut the kafir lime leaves in half and remove the main vein. Cut the leaves into thin slices, then mince them. Transfer to the bowl and mix with the other ingredients.
- Add the coconut blossom sugar and pinch of salt and massage everything with your hand. Try to slightly crush the ingredients and squeeze a bit until you see the juice coming out from the shallots. As I mentioned above, you may want to protect your hands.
- Add melted coconut oil to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well. Transfer the ready Sambal Matah into a serving dish.
- Serve right away to accompany your preferred delicacies and enjoy in good company!
Tip: Always make your Sambal Matah Bali fresh. However, if you intend to make a bigger batch and store it in the fridge, do not add the salt, sugar and especially the coconut oil as it will set in cold temperature. Store the sliced ingredients in a tightly closing glass container and add the salt, sugar and the melted coconut oil short before serving.
In radiant health, passionately raw - Dominique
Dominique Allmon©2024