A recipe for homemade Sambal Oelek, the classic chili paste made with chili peppers, vinegar and salt, ideal for seasoning noodle dishes and so much more.
Sambal Oelek Recipe
We know you all love sriracha - Homemade Sriracha, anyone? - but have you cooked with Sambal Oelek chili paste? Perhaps it is time to begin.
Mike's Recipe Highlights
- My recipe keeps making Sambal Oelek simple and easy to make at home. I always say, "fresh is always best!" It has much more vibrant and authentic flavor compared to what you get in grocery stores.
- While Thai red peppers are traditional, I offer alternatives like cayenne, red serrano, or red jalapeno peppers so you can adjust to your heat preferences and peppers you have available.
- I'll show you how you can use it as more than just a condiment, like as a base for other sauces and dishes. It's so versatile!
What is Sambal Oelek?
While Sriracha is distinctly Thai, Sambal Oelek is Indonesian, and it is essentially a raw chili paste made from ground chili peppers. It uses only simple ingredients, traditionally red chili peppers, vinegar and salt.
It can be used as a base to make sambals and other sauces, and works best when used more as a spicy condiment or flavoring ingredient than as a direct sauce or hot sauce.
A "sambal" actually refers to any chili sauce or paste that is made from a variety of chili peppers, with any number of other ingredients added in for flavor. Any chili sauce or paste would be called sambal.
Featured Reader Comment
From Bonvivant: "This is a simple yet mighty preparation. Outstanding use of all of the red hot chiles in the garden. Made a great marinade for char grilled chicken skewers. Delicious."
What Does Sambal Oelek Mean?
The word "sambal" is an Indonesian word referring to a sauce made primarily with chili peppers. "Oelek" (or sambal olek or sambal ulek) refers to a mortar and pestle.
Hence, Sambal Oelek is Indonesian for a chili sauce ground with a mortar and pestle.
Sambal Oelek Ingredients
Thai red peppers would be optimal for making sambal oelek at home, but you can use other chilies.
If you can't find Thai peppers, or if they are too hot for you, try cayenne peppers, red serranos, or red jalapeno peppers. Of course there are many other options, but these particular peppers work the best in order of descending heat levels.
How to Make Sambal Oelek
Making Sambal Oelek is very simple. Add your chili peppers, vinegar and salt to a food processor, blender, or other grinder. A Molcajete is a great option here.
Next, process or mash the mixture until a coarse paste forms.
Add the resulting chili paste, Sambal Oelek, to a jar and cover. Refrigerate until ready to use.
There are variations, of course. A tour of the web will find other ingredients added to Sambal Oelek, such as garlic, lime juice, rice vinegar and more, though at some point, with such additions, the paste stops being Sambal Oelek and becomes something else.
This is what Sambal Oelek is for, to be used as a base, a springboard to new and interesting flavors. I've also seen recipes with the paste cooked down a bit.
I suppose this would mellow it out, but traditionally the paste is simply ground with a mortar and pestle, though you can use a food processor to achieve the same effect, of course.
You can find sambal oelek in stores. The most popular brand I see is from Huy Fong Foods. I'm here to show you how to make it at home, though. Much better!
Serving Ideas for Sambal Oelek
In truth, Sambal Oelek works great as a simple way to preserve your peppers. The salt and vinegar will let you keep them a long time. Pop it into the fridge and pull it out to swirl into any sort of soup or stew, anything in a crock pot or slow cooker.
Swirl it up into a bowl of hot noodles with some soy sauce and fish sauce and you have a super simple lunch. I use it to make my own homemade Spicy Ramen Noodles or delicious dipping sauces.
I used it just last night by adding a couple tablespoons to a traditional pesto, then tossed it with noodles. Topped it with some seared salmon and BOOM! Quick, easy dinner with just the right touch of spice.
Sambal Oelek Vs. Sriracha
Sambal oelek is more of a base recipe compared to sriracha. Sriracha is sweeter and usually has more vinegar included in the recipe.
Sambal oelek, on the other hand, is usually thicker and contains fewer ingredients. Because it is less processed, it is often much spicier than your typical sriracha.
See my Homemade Sriracha Recipe for more information about sriracha.
Sambal Oelek Substitutes
You have several options to substitute for sambal oelek in recipes. None of these will duplicate the flavors, but each can work in a pinch.
Try using the following:
- Sriracha - often the best substitution
- Harissa - it will alter the final flavor of your dish, but can still be rather tasty
- Chinese Chili Sauce or Paste
- Any Basic Chili Paste or Chili-Garlic Paste
- Gochujang - has a deeper, more fermented flavor
Storage Information
Sambal oelek will last 2-3 months or longer in a sealed container in the refrigerator due to the acidity.
You can also freeze it in freezer containers for up to 6 months. I like to freeze it in an ice cube tray for small useable portions.
This Recipe Is In our Cookbook - FLAVOR MADNESS
Did you know that you can find this recipe in our new cookbook FLAVOR MADNESS? It's waiting for you on PAGE 44.
Recommended Products
These kitchen tools will help you make sambal oelek and other chili pastes easily at home. These are all tools I use personally.
- Vitamix A3500 Blender (Amazon affiliate link, my friends)
- Amazon Basics Digital Kitchen Scale (Amazon affiliate link, my friends)
- Mortar and Pestle Set (Amazon affiliate link, my friends)
Here are a Few Recipe Suggestions for Sambal Oelek
- Spicy Thai Curry Chicken Soup
- Sweet Potato Soup
- Beef Rendang (Indonesian Beef Stew)
- Nasi Goreng (Indonesian Fried Rice)
- Mie Goreng (Indonesian Stir Fry Noodles)
- Phall Curry (Extra Hot Curry)
- See my Indonesian Recipes
Time to make the Sambal Oelek! Let me know how YOU use it.
Learn more about How to Make Chili Paste.
Other Popular Chili Sauce Recipes
- Sweet Chili-Garlic Hot Sauce
- Mojo Picon - Canarian Red Pepper Sauce
- Bravas Sauce (Salsa Brava)
- Sambal Matah
- Sambal Terasi (Indonesian Chili Sauce with Shrimp Paste)
- Ssamjang (Spicy Korean Soybean Paste)
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you'll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don't forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I'll be sure to share! Thanks! -- Mike H.
Sambal Oelek Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound red chili peppers, stems removed Thai is traditional, but red jalapenos, serranos and cayenne peppers are good substitutes
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon salt
OPTIONAL ADDITIONS
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a food processor or other grinder. A Molcajete is a great option here.
- Grind until a coarse paste forms. You can strain out some of the excess liquid if you'd like.
- Add to a jar and cover. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
This recipe was updated on 1/29/25 to include new photos and video. It was originally published on 9/28/16.
Ken Whitacre says
wow can't wait to put it in my ramen for lunch.i used red fire chillies from my garden
Mike Hultquist says
Perfect!! Enjoy, Ken!
Josefa says
Thank you for this recipe. This is one of my favorite red chili sauce. I make it with jalapeños or Serrano’s. I live in a small town that only has a Walmart. Not many choices for products.i use Thai chilies when my daughter sends me some I try and have a jar of this in my frig often I have enjoyed lots of your recipes. Thank you
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Josefa. Glad to help. Definitely best homemade! Enjoy!
Judith Stewart says
I believe you mean "coarse"...
Mike Hultquist says
Yes, that is correct. Type. Thanks, Judith.
Cindy says
Can this be canned?
Mike Hultquist says
Cindy, yes, though if using a water bath, check the acidity. Shoot for 3.5 pH or lower for home canning, or you can use a pressure canner.
Ramya says
Cant wait to make this soon for me i never had sambal oelek before perfect for snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
Mike Hultquist says
Great for cooking, Ramya. Enjoy.
Dawn says
I made this with a mix of red and yellow peppers from my last harvest in the fall: cayenne, lemon drop, habanero, Maule’s red hot, Martin’s carrot, paprika, chile de arbol, I’m not even sure what they all were. The resulting sauce is amazing. I will do this every year now. I make fermented hot sauce as well but the texture and flavor of this is particularly great for cooking.
Mike H. says
Thanks for sharing, Dawn. Absolutely - enjoy!
Angel says
I want to try this, is it possible to do this with dried chili flakes?
Mike H. says
Angel, getting the perfect consistency with store-bought chili flakes can be tough. But if you grind them into a powder, they'll mix much better.
Julia says
Hiya, just wondering how long this will keep in the fridge? Thank you
Mike Hultquist says
Julia, this should last months due to the vinegar. You can add in a bit more vinegar to help it keep, or freeze it.
Evan says
Love this. Made this recipe twice now with chilis I grew myself. Great recipe. The Sambol is a perfect punch of heat and flavour
Mike Hultquist says
Excellent! Thanks, Evan!
Craig Hasegawa says
Hi Mike,
Thanks for posting this recipe. While I haven’t tried it yet I’m sure it will surpass what you can buy in stores.
My suggestion is for the people having trouble accessing Thai chilies. Try growing them yourself in fabric grow bags
(Amazon). You can easily obtain the seeds online. One or two plants should supply you with plenty of chilies and you can pick them as needed. Search YouTube for gardening in grow bags. I highly recommend Thai chilies as I find they have a subtle fruity flavor not found in other chilies.
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks, Craig!
Jeff D Gibson says
how acidic is this. can it be canned?
Mike Hultquist says
I haven't measured the pH, but you probably need a bit more vinegar for canning. Shoot for pH of 3.5 or so for home preserving. 4.6 is shelf stable.
David Lars Chamberlain says
It's been impossible recently for us to buy sambal oelek anywhere nearby (or online). So I went hunting for a recipe and found this one. Once we found spicy red peppers (jalapeños in our case as no Thai peppers were available), I made up a small batch to test out in one of our favorite recipes.
To be honest, I didn't expect much, but this is so much better than store-bought - and almost as easy - we won't be going back to buy the ready made version any time soon. This is really outstanding AND it's very easy to make!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Mike Hultquist says
Thanks so much, David! Yes, VERY easy to make, and I agree, so much better than anything you can get from the store. Fresh is best.
Faith says
If I'm forced to use dried peppers, what would be the conversion from 1 pound fresh to dried peppers?
Mike Hultquist says
Faith, dried pods are typically 1/4 weight of fresh, so 4 ounces dried. I have a post on Chili Pepper Measurement Conversions here that you can review: https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/frequently-asked-questions/conversions/
Faith says
Thanks! And thanks for the link.