Indonesian Chili Paste

What so special about Indonesian Chili Paste?

Chili paste is an all purpose ingredient that you can use as a condiment, sauce, marinade, flavor boost, etc. Chili paste is a key ingredient in many Asian cuisines. Indonesian chili paste is unique in that, it includes lemongrass, candlenut, and bay leaf. In this recipe, I will be using dried chili peppers. But, if you prefer to use fresh chili, that works as well. Dried chili has lower water content, so the paste will last longer than if you used fresh chilies.

Tips

• If you would like your chili paste to last longer and showed more red color, you can use dried chili.
• You can also freeze your chili paste in the freezer. The paste should last for 3 months

Substitute

Candlenut: If you can’t find candlenut, you can just omit it. But I was told by a friend that you can substitute candlenut with macadamia nut. I’ve personally never tried cooking Indonesian food with macadamia nut. Let me know if you end up trying this!

Indonesian Chili Paste

Recipe by Catherine RicardoCourse: CondimentCuisine: IndonesianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Calories

300

kcal

A versatile paste that can be used as a condiment, sauce, marinate, etc.

Ingredients

• 1 oz dried chili

• 10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 3 – 4 shallots, roughly chopped

• 5 candlenuts

• 1 stalk of lemongrass

• 2 bay leaves

• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup water

• 4 tablespoons sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

• In a small bowl, rehydrate your dried chilis by submerging them in warm or hot water. Leave this for 2-3 minutes and drain the water.
• Heat your vegetable oil in a pan, add garlic, shallots and candlenut. Keep stirring until this mixture has dried.
• Add the rehydrated chilis into the pan. Stir for 2-3 minutes.
• With an immersion blender or food processor, blend these ingredients until it looks like a paste.
• Put the paste back into the pan and add lemongrass and bayleaf. Stir the paste until fragrant or until the oil is separated from the herbs.
• Add water, salt, and sugar. Cook on a low heat until the water has evaporated.
• Transfer the paste into your desired container.