Sambal Petis

This super easy sambal petis is done in 5 minutes and makes a delicious spicy chili salsa. Chop up some chilies, add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt and 2 teaspoons of petis, rub it in the mortar and you’re done. If you use a blender you can make it even faster.

Petis is a shrimp paste. It is not like trassi. That is also a shrimp paste but made with fermented shrimps. A petis paste is a super thick and super sticky sauce. It has an umami flavor and is slightly sweet too. I buy petis in a jar at my local Asian food store.

This sambal is done in 5 minutes and is enough for 4 people.

Sambal Petis #20 translated from Beb Vuyk’s Groot Indonesisch Kookboek, pagina 58.

Ingrediënten

5 chili peppers
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 à 2 teaspoons of petis

Make a sambal ulek but with less salt. Rub 1 or 2 teaspoons to taste of petis through (also see recipe for sambal goreng petis).

I use my mortar (cobek) for this sambal. I do not chop everything to finely before I add it to my mortar; because I use yellow and red ones. Now their different colors are still visible.

The petis is such a sticky paste it’s almost difficult to scoop out of the jar. But in the mortar it mixes easily with the chillies.

I add a few leaves of chopped spring onions on top, just for the color difference and some extra crunchiness.

Because nothing else is added to this sambal it stays pretty spicy, I like! For more authentic Indonesian salsa recipe check out this link.