Sambal Tomat, Javanese Cooked Tomato Chile Sambal
Sambal tomat is the cooked, mellow cousin of the fiery raw sambals, a Javanese and Sundanese table condiment built on tomato rather than pure chile. The tomatoes are cooked down until jammy, which tames the heat of the bird chiles and turns the whole thing sweet, sour, and savory at once. The usual recipe folds in terasi, fermented shrimp paste, and a pinch of salt; both are left out here, so the depth comes from browning the shallot and garlic and reducing the tomato hard. A single date stands in for the palm sugar. Spoon it over brown rice, steamed vegetables, or baked tofu, or use it as a dip. It keeps a week in the fridge and only improves.
Ingredients
- 3 wholes Fresh tomatoes, chopped
- 3 wholes Shallots, sliced
- 3 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 4 wholes Thai bird chile, stemmed
- 1 whole Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tbsp Lime juice
Method
- Put the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, and chiles in a dry pan over medium heat with a splash of water and cook, stirring, until everything slumps and the tomato releases its juice, about 8 minutes. Starting them in a covered pan steams them soft without oil, and the tomato water becomes the cooking medium the rest of the sambal fries in.
- Uncover and keep cooking, mashing with the back of a spoon, until the liquid has cooked off and the mixture turns thick and jammy, another 10 minutes. This reduction is the whole point of a sambal tomat: it concentrates the tomato into something deep and sweet-sour rather than watery.
- Scrape the sambal into a mortar or a small blender with the date and grind or pulse to a coarse paste. Traditional versions use a cobek, a stone mortar, and a rough texture is correct, so stop before it turns smooth. The single date replaces the palm sugar that usually rounds out the heat.
- Stir in the lime juice off the heat and taste. Bottled sambal tomat leans on terasi, fermented shrimp paste, and salt, both left out here; the caramelized shallot and garlic, the concentrated tomato, and the lime carry the savor and the brightness instead.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 45 calories, 1 g protein, 2 g fiber, 8 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
