Growing up, there were very few dishes in Alia’s childhood that didn’t have the trinity of shallots, garlic, and chillies. This particular dish is a favourite of her late mother’s, who would make it as spicy as possible by using extra cili padi. Mix it with plain white rice to make an ‘instant’ nasi goreng, or with crackers, toast, noodles, or pasta. Or simply eat it on its own.
Spicy egg sambal
by Alia Ali
Growing up, there were very few dishes in Alia’s childhood that didn’t have the trinity of shallots, garlic, and chillies. This particular dish is a favourite of her late mother’s, who would make it as spicy as possible by using extra cili padi. Mix it with plain white rice to make an ‘instant’ nasi goreng, or with crackers, toast, noodles, or pasta. Or simply eat it on its own.
Servings: 8
Prep time: Slightly involved
Servings: 8
Prep time: Slightly involved
Ingredients
1 tbsp tamarind flesh (optional)
1 large yellow onion, peeled
8 shallots, peeled
8 cloves garlic, peeled
5 large red or green chillies
12 cili padi (or more to taste)
1″ knob belacan (optional)
1 handful (about 50g) ikan bilis, cleaned
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt (to taste)
6 eggs, cracked into a bowl
Directions
- Soak the tamarind flesh (if using) in about 250ml warm water for about 10 minutes. Gently massage the mixture to loosen the flesh from the seeds, then strain the juice (aka the liquid the tamarind was soaking in) into a bowl. Set aside.
- Place large onion, shallots, garlic, large chillies, cili padi, and belacan (if using) into a food processor (or blender, with a splash of water). Process the mixture until it becomes a chunky paste. Add the ikan bilis and pulse for a further 10 seconds.
- Heat a wok over medium flame. Once the wok is hot, pour in the vegetable oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add in the processed aromatics. Fry for around 10 minutes at least, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. The desired outcome at this stage is for the mixture to pecah minyak, or at least for the mixture to begin softening and darkening.
- Pour in the tamarind juice (if using), add a generous pinch of salt, and stir to mix evenly.
- When the mixture begins to bubble, pour in the eggs and turn the heat up to high. Quickly mix everything together, creating a sort-of scrambled egg. Once the eggs are cooked to your preferred doneness, turn off the flame and serve warm.
Tips
- All elements of this dish can be tweaked according to preference. Tamarind juice adds sourness and loosens the egg mixture. More cili padi means more heat. Less onion mean less bulk. Experiment away.
- If you use the tamarind water, the eggs tend to cook lower and slower, which will result in softer and smaller curds. If you make this dish without the tamarind water, the eggs will cook hot and fast, and the curds will set firmer.
Ingredients
1 tbsp tamarind flesh (optional)
1 large yellow onion, peeled
8 shallots, peeled
8 cloves garlic, peeled
5 large red or green chillies
12 cili padi (or more to taste)
1″ knob belacan (optional)
1 handful (about 50g) ikan bilis, cleaned
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt (to taste)
6 eggs, cracked into a bowl
Directions
- Soak the tamarind flesh (if using) in about 250ml warm water for about 10 minutes. Gently massage the mixture to loosen the flesh from the seeds, then strain the juice (aka the liquid the tamarind was soaking in) into a bowl. Set aside.
- Place large onion, shallots, garlic, large chillies, cili padi, and belacan (if using) into a food processor (or blender, with a splash of water). Process the mixture until it becomes a chunky paste. Add the ikan bilis and pulse for a further 10 seconds.
- Heat a wok over medium flame. Once the wok is hot, pour in the vegetable oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add in the processed aromatics. Fry for around 10 minutes at least, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. The desired outcome at this stage is for the mixture to pecah minyak, or at least for the mixture to begin softening and darkening.
- Pour in the tamarind juice (if using), add a generous pinch of salt, and stir to mix evenly.
- When the mixture begins to bubble, pour in the eggs and turn the heat up to high. Quickly mix everything together, creating a sort-of scrambled egg. Once the eggs are cooked to your preferred doneness, turn off the flame and serve warm.
Tips
- All elements of this dish can be tweaked according to preference. Tamarind juice adds sourness and loosens the egg mixture. More cili padi means more heat. Less onion mean less bulk. Experiment away.
- If you use the tamarind water, the eggs tend to cook lower and slower, which will result in softer and smaller curds. If you make this dish without the tamarind water, the eggs will cook hot and fast, and the curds will set firmer.
