Sweet Chili Relish

Sambal Kecap

Sweet and simple, and hot!.
A little dab of this gooey-black madness goes miles towards enlivening an ordinary mead. Often served with sate daging.

2 shallots
12 bird peppers
1/2 cup sweet soy sauce
1 Tbs. lime juice

• Peel and mince the shallots. Slice the bird peppers into thin rounds.
• Mix with the sweet soy sauce and lime juice.

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Indonesian Hot Sauce

Sambal Badjak

10 red chilies
10 bird's eye chilies
5 harbanero
1/2 tsp salt
2 medium tomatoes, cut up
1 TB shrimp paste
2 TB tamarind
3 TB palm sugar

1/2 cup oil
1 salam leaves
1 lemon grass, bruised and knotted
1 pieces dried galangal

Place all the ingredients in the food processor and make it into a paste. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Pour the paste into the wok and cook until bubbly. When you see the bubble, turn the heat down and add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for about 1 hour.
Get 2 or 3 small canning jar ready. Follow the instructions and fill the jar with the sambal.

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Iced Tamarind

Es Gula Asam

One of the secrets to cooling off on a hot day or after an especially spicy dish is to ally yourself with the engaging tartness of tamarind.

1/4 cup sugar
1 cup tamarind water
1 cup water

• Make a tamarind syrup by dissolving the sugar into the tamarind water in saucepan. Simmer for several minutes. This mixture can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator for later use.
• To prepare the es asam, combine 1 part tamarind syrup with 1 part water. Serve over ice with extra sugar on the side for those who like it sweet.

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Iced Citrus Drink with Coconut

Es Jeruk Kelapa

Jeruk refers to any variety of citrus but es jeruk is usually either a lime or an orange that can be squeezed quickly in street stalls and mixed with a little sugar and water. For that added textural dimension include some slippery floating slivers of fresh coconut flesh.

4 medium oranges, limes, or lemons
1 cup fresh young coconut flesh
4 Tbs. sugar
ice

• Combine roughly 1 part fresh-squeeze citrus juice with 4 parts water.
• Typically a few spoonfuls of sugar are added and let float to the bottom of the glass so that the sweetness can be adjusted with a little stirring.
• Add the coconut flesh and ice.

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