Sambal at Nusa

Sambal is the heart of meals and feasts for Indonesians. For the Dutch, sambal is a must on their rijsttafel. Every region in Indonesia has its own specialty sambal and takes great pride in it.

Some Indonesian dishes derive their flavor entirely from sambal, such as our favorite Eggplant Sambal Balado. For other dishes, sambal enhances the flavors, like in our Smoked Beef Eye Fillet (Se’i Sapi) and Grilled Barramundi, which are topped with Balinese Sambal Matah and Beef Chilli Balado which is stir fried with Sambal Balado.

In this blog, we’ll share the variety of sambals we serve at Nusa and the dishes they pair best with. Some people avoid sambal or chilli in general, but we think everyone should try sambal at least once in their lifetime. For those who haven’t tried our sambal yet, we hope this blog post breaks the barrier. And for those who already love sambal, we hope this post gives you a better idea of how to pair it with the dishes you order at Nusa.

Green Chilli Sambal (Sambal Ijo)

First is Green Chilli Sambal, or what Indonesians call Sambal Ijo. This sambal is a specialty of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. We use Australian-grown green chillies for this sambal. What makes it unique is its zesty flavor, which comes from lime juice and kaffir lime leaves. We consider this to be the least spicy sambal among the ones we offer.

Sambal Balado

Second is the Red Sambal Balado. This sambal is another specialty of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. We stir fry our Beef Chilli Balado and Eggplant Chilli Balado with this Sambal Balado.

We recommend pairing both the Sambal Ijo and Sambal Balado with West Sumatran dishes such as Beef Rendang, Chicken Gulai, Beef Tendon Gulai, Cassava Leaves Gulai, and Jackfruit Gulai.

Beyond West Sumatran cuisine, we also enjoy using the Red Sambal Balado as a dipping sauce for deep-fried tofu and deep-fried tempeh.

Sambal Terasi

The third sambal we offer at Nusa is Sambal Terasi. Known as Sambal Belacan in Malaysia, this sambal is unique due to its use of shrimp paste, which makes it non-vegan. In addition to shrimp paste, we add a touch of palm sugar and fresh tomato, giving the sambal a subtle sweetness. We recommend pairing it with dishes that have a sweet profile, such as Grilled Chicken Kalasan, Lamb Satay, Honey-glazed Grilled Prawns, Grilled Duck Leg, Caramelised Tempeh and Sayur Pecel. We also recommend adding this sambal to your Nasi Goreng or Mie Goreng for an extra kick.

Garlic Sambal (Sambal Bawang)

The fourth sambal we offer at Nusa is Garlic Sambal. This sambal is the specialty of people from East Java and commonly used in their dishes. This sambal features both garlic and shallots, which elevate spiciness of the sambal to a new level. In Bahasa Indonesia, garlic and shallots are called bawang putih and bawang merah, respectively, and this sambal is simply known as sambal bawang. The color of our Sambal Bawang is lighter red due to the usage of garlic. We recommend pairing Sambal Bawang with our famous Grilled Beef Ribs and Kremesan Fried Chicken.

For all of the three red sambals mentioned above, we use Australian-grown red chillies. However, we must warn you that these three sambals can sometimes be spicier during summer season. This is because red chillies harvested in summer tend to be spicier than those harvested in colder season. While we’ve observed this pattern, we don’t yet have a scientific explanation for why this happens. Don’t hesitate to ask our staff about the spiciness level of these sambals before placing your order.

Sambal Matah

The fifth sambal we serve at Nusa is Sambal Matah, a specialty of the Balinese people. Matah (or mentah) translates to "raw" in English, as this sambal is not stir fried like the others. Instead, the chillies along with shallots and lemongrass are cut then simmered with hot oil. Another unique aspect is the use of Thai bird’s eye chillies, which we think are spicier than Australian-grown red chillies. We recommend pairing this sambal with dishes from Bali and East Nusa Tenggara, such as Grilled Barramundi, Grilled Duck Leg, and Smoked Beef Eye Fillet (Se’i Sapi).

That’s all for today! We hope this guide helps you choose the perfect sambal to complement your dishes at Nusa. If you haven’t tried sambal before, we encourage you to give it a try. Once you get used to it, you’ll find it hard to enjoy Indonesian dishes without it.

Of course these five sambals we serve at Nusa are not the only sambal Indonesians make. As our sambal grows in popularity, we may add more types of sambal in the future. Make sure to bookmark this page so you can reference it before making an order at Nusa. Lastly, we encourage you to experiment and pair any of these sambals with your favorite dishes at Nusa. Let us know which sambal is your favorite from our current menu! And also check our menu to learn more about the variety of Indonesian food we serve at Nusa.