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Recipe

Sambal matah

A raw Balinese sambal of shallot, lemongrass, lime leaf, and chili, loosened with hot coconut oil. The condiment taught beside grilled fish and sate at Warung Tumang Bali.

All recipes·Serves 1 small bowl, enough for 4·Prep 15 minutes·Cook 2 minutes

A wooden table set with bowls of ground spices, chilies, grated coconut, and banana leaves

Sambal matah stays raw. Shallot, lemongrass, and lime leaf are sliced, not fried, then shocked with a spoon of hot coconut oil so the fragrance opens without turning the chili into a cooked sambal.

At the Petulu kitchen the bowl sits next to grilled fish and sate lilit. Make it the same day you eat it. The shallot softens, then the lime fades.

Ingredients

  • 6 small shallots, peeled and sliced paper-thin
  • 8–12 bird’s eye chilies, sliced into thin rings
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, tender core only, sliced very thin
  • 4 lime leaves, central rib removed, sliced into hair-fine threads
  • A few slices of torch ginger (kecombrang), if you can find it
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • A pinch of salt

Method

  1. Pile the shallot, chili, lemongrass, lime leaf, and torch ginger in a bowl. Keep the slices thin so the oil can reach them.
  2. Warm the coconut oil until it shimmers. It should be hot, not smoking.
  3. Pour the oil over the aromatics and stir. The shallot will relax and turn glossy.
  4. Add lime juice and salt. Taste. Matah should be sharp, fragrant, and salty enough to season a plate of rice, not sweet.
  5. Rest it for 10 minutes, then serve with grilled fish, sate, or warm rice. Do not keep it overnight.

Guests slice this sambal themselves after the spice table is laid out. The chili is the same bird’s eye you see piled at the Ubud morning market.