Sambal Ikan Bilis is a fiery spicy sauce that is as a side dish for various Asian foods, popular in many countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. There a literally hundreds of different variations of this sauce, ranging from mild, to very hot. The chilli, Ikan Bilis (dried anchovies), belacan (shrimp paste) and onions are cooked down to give the sauce a rich, full-bodied flavour.
What is Sambal Ikan Bilis?
Sambal ikan bilis is a hot and spicy sauce, that’s made by grinding a combination of chillies, garlic, onion, shrimp paste and ikan bilis (dried anchovies) in a food processor. This paste is then cooked over a medium heat until it darkens and becomes fragrant.
This hot and spicy sauce is made with fresh and dried chillies, belachan (shrimp paste) and dried anchovies.
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Recipe
Sambal Ikan Bilis Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 dried red chillies <– see note 1
- 3 red chillies – fresh or frozen
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 onion – roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste – or powder
- 20 grams Ikan Bilis (dried anchovies) washed and dried <– see note 2
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil
- 150 ml water
- 2 teaspoon Tamarind paste concentrate <– see note 3
- 3 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Optional Addition
- 4 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 cup of Ikan Biliis washed and dried <– see note 2
Instructions
- Soak the dried chillies in warm water for 5 minutes to soften, then drain.
- Blend the chillies, garlic, onion, shrimp paste and ikan bilis in a food processor to form a paste.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the blended paste and cook on medium heat for about 6 minutes. Stirring all the time, until the colour darkens slightly.
- Mix in the water, tamarind paste, sugar, and salt. Continue to cook and stir for another 10 minutes, until the mixture is thick and most of the liquid has reduced.
- Adjust the seasoning to your liking by adding more salt, sugar or tamarind paste if required.
- Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
Optional Addition
- After you have made the sambal you can mix in some crispy ikan bilis.
- Wash the ikan bilis, drain and pat dry with kitchen paper towel. Set aside. Heat 4 tablespoons oil in a frying pan and fry the ikan bilis in batches until golden brown and crispy. Remove from the pan and dry the excess oil with a paper towel.
- The crispy ikan bilis can be added to the sambal when the sambal is cold.
Notes
- – Remove the seeds from the dried chillies before soaking.
- – Or use the big chillies, they are not as hot as the small bird’s eye chilli.
- – Or reduce the amount of chillies in the recipe.
- – Wash them at least three times in clean water, then spread out on a tray lined with absorbent paper and pat dry.
- – It’s important that they are dry especially when you are frying in oil.
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Pocket Food Facts
Did You Know?
Ikan Bilis is an Indonesian term for anchovies. These tiny dried, salted fish are used in various Asian dishes.
This recipe is exactly what was cooked in the kampongs of Malacca. I spent a decade plus in that beautiful place amongst great people n their cuisine. This was in the 70’s !!
I often make this exact dish as taught by my Malaysian Amah. It’s SO yummy, I use deseeded red Chillies so it’s not so flaming hot:)
I only wish u had included Nasi Lemak recipe for the uninitiated in Malaysian food! Thanks
Thanks for the comment. It is great to hear that recipe is something similar to what you have had in the past.
Sometimes we also use deseeded chillies to reduce the heat depending on who we are making the sambal for.
One day (hopefully soon) I will be publishing a recipe for Nasi Lemak.
We have another side dish that goes extremely well with Nasi Lemak or just even plain steamed rice and fried egg.
It’s made with peanuts, chips and ikan bilis its our family’s original recipe, great for snacking on to. Here is the recipe if you would like to check it out. Easy Fried Ikan Bilis and Peanuts
I’m making the sambal at this very minute to go with my fish and white rice tomorrow!
Thank you for trying the recipe, I do hope you enjoy this sambal! You might also like to try our fried ikan bilis peaunts recipe. It goes so well with fried fish, white rice and sambal, you can even eat it as a snack or use it as a crunchy sandwich filling with fresh bread and butter.
For your information, Ikan Bilis is not an Indonesian term but rather a Malay term widely used both in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Thanks!