Recipes › Sambal Oelek

Sambal Oelek

Published 12 October 2026

Sambal oelek is the plainest sambal there is: red chillies, salt and vinegar, ground together. No cooking, no frying, no coconut. Because it is so simple it is also the most useful, used as a condiment at the table and as an ingredient in the pan. Once you have a jar in the fridge, a bowl of rice and a fried egg becomes dinner.

Ingredients

• 250 g fresh red chillies (cayenne, Fresno, or a mix)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar or lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves (optional, for a punchier version)
• 1 small tomato, skinned and seeded (optional, for a softer version)

Method

1. Wearing gloves if your skin is sensitive, remove the stems from the chillies. Leave the seeds in for heat, or scrape them out for a milder paste. Seeds and white pith carry most of the capsaicin.
2. Roughly chop the chillies and put them in a food processor or a stone mortar with the salt, vinegar and sugar if using.
3. Pulse in short bursts, or grind with the pestle, until you have a coarse paste. It should still have texture, not become a puree. Over-processing makes it watery.
4. Taste and adjust: more salt if it tastes flat, a squeeze more lime if it needs sharpness, a pinch of sugar if the chillies are harsh.
5. Transfer to a clean glass jar, press the paste down to remove air pockets and cover with a thin film of vinegar or oil.
6. Store in the fridge. It keeps for two to three weeks, and longer if you top it up with a little vinegar each time you use it.

Notes and tips

• A stone mortar gives a coarser, better-textured paste than a blender. If you only have a blender, pulse and scrape down the sides repeatedly.
• Fresh red chillies vary enormously in heat. Taste one before you commit the whole batch: a mild chilli needs no adjustment, a fierce one may want the optional tomato to soften it.
• Wear gloves. Chilli oil on your hands will find your eyes hours later no matter how many times you wash.
• This is the base for cooked sambals too. Fry it in oil for eight minutes and you have sambal goreng, which is a different and deeper thing.
• A spoonful stirred through fried rice, noodles, soup or a marinade does more than any spice blend in the cupboard.

Questions

How is this different from sriracha?

Sriracha is cooked, sweetened and often contains garlic and sugar. Sambal oelek is raw, savoury and much simpler. The shop-bought jar with the same name is usually a mild approximation.

How long does it last?

Two to three weeks refrigerated in a clean jar. Covering the surface with a thin layer of vinegar extends that considerably.

Can I use dried chillies?

Yes. Soak them in hot water for 20 minutes, drain, and grind. The result is darker and slightly smokier than fresh.

Is it very hot?

As hot as the chillies you use. Removing the seeds and pith cuts the heat by roughly half without losing the flavour.

Cooked it? Tell us how it went on the contact page — corrections and regional variations are always welcome.