If there’s one condiment that best represents multi-faceted Malaysia – it’s sambal!
One nation, many sambals
You’ll find a myriads of sambal here in Malaysia. Popular ones include sambal belacan, sambal tumis, sambal hijau, and their many derivations.
It is so ubiquitous here in Malaysia, and is a crucial in accompaniment to many local dishes. Find it served with nasi lemak, mee goreng, nasi ayam, and roti canai amid other local delicacies.
So what better way to celebrate Hari Kemerdekaan than a sambal recipe?
Sambal kicap 
Sambal belacan 
Sambal petai 
Sambal ijo belacan
Sambal kicap – easy and delicious
So here’s our simple sambal kicap recipe, which we made to compliment our tauhu begedil.
It’s really easy! All we need to do is fry the aromatics, and blend ’em with kicap manis and seasoning.
Thick, sweet, savoury and mildly spicy – it’s a superb accompaniment to our crispy, savoury tauhu begedil or soto ayam.
Besides that, sambal kicap is also usually eaten with sour mangoes, goreng pisang and soto.
Check out these recipes to enjoy with sambal kicap.
Tauhu begedil 
Soto ayam 
Begedil daging
Key tips
- Our sambal is mildly spicy – feel free to add more cili padi for more kick!
- It is important to fry the aromatics first to release the fragrance and taste.
- We love adding fried shallots to our sambal kicap – for the added umami and caramelised flavour.
- Also, a squeeze of calamansi juice at the end gives it a bit of tang.
- As always, taste and adjust to your preference. This particular kicap manis brand worked well for our recipe – but measurements will differ based on what you use.
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Other sambal recipes
If you enjoy our sambal kicap, do check out our Sambal Ijo Belacan recipe as well.
That sambal is an essential accompaniment to our Ayam Goreng Kunyit dish, as well as Ayam Pop and Dendeng Batokok.
We also cooked Sambal Sumbat stuffed in fried cencaru fish.
Sambal ijo belacan 
Ayam goreng kunyit
Ayam pop 
Dendeng batokok
Other Sauce recipes
For more sauce recipes, check out our archives below. Our Homemade Chilli Oil is particularly popular with our followers.
Homemade Chilli Oil 
Ikan Cencaru Sumbat Sambal
Key Steps in Pictures
Sambal Kicap RECIPE
Course: Snacks, SidesCuisine: Malay, IndonesianDifficulty: Easy6
servings15
minutes10
minutesLet’s make sambal kicap – thick, sweet, mildly spicy and whole lotta delicious!
Ingredients
10 cut chilli padi
6 garlic cloves, sliced
5 shallots, sliced
1 tbsp crispy fried shallots
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp kicap manis, or adjust to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 calamansi (limau kasturi)
Directions
- Heat up cooking oil in a pan and fry chilli padi, garlic and shallots until slightly brown and fragrant. Remove when done.
- Add the fried ingredients, crispy fried shallots salt, and kicap manis into a food processor. Blend to achieve a thick and smooth consistency. Adjust taste if needed.
- Serve with a squeeze of calamansi juice.
