Sambal Shortbread
Of all the chilli sauces and pastes out there, sambal is my favourite. Part condiment, part dip, and part lifestyle, it is indispensable in South East Asian cuisine. With hundreds of varieties of sambal throughout the region, there’s a sambal for every conceivable occasion, dish or mood. It’s also incredibly arduous to make, requiring hours of grinding and frying for the most fragrant of sambals. Although food processors have made life much easier, the most traditional of cooks will tell you that a sambal that has been slowly ground down with a mortar and pestle is nothing short of special.
This particular recipe uses sambal belacan, which is super versatile and contains fermented shrimp paste (i.e. belacan) - not one for everyone, but definitely unforgettable in the best way. It’s my personal favourite as well but with hundreds of sambal variations out there, why not try this out with something else?
Ingredients:
24g sambal belacan (or any other sambal you like)
38g unsalted butter (if not using sambal belacan, you may want to add a pinch of salt)
27g caster sugar
90g all purpose flour
Combine all of the ingredients into a bowl, and mix until everything is combined and there are no lumps of sambal.
Shape the dough into a log, and refrigerate until firm, roughly 30 minutes.
Bake at 180°C for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.