Simple Sambal Telur – Eggs in Spicy Sambal Sauce

If you’ve never tried Sambal Telur (Boiled Eggs in Spicy Sambal Sauce) before, this South East Asian side dish is going to blow your tastebuds out of the water. Think the satisfying goodness of hardboiled eggs paired with the fiery heat of spicy Indonesian sambal sauce.  It’s time to get cooking so let’s crank up the heat!

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Do you love spicy South East Asian cuisine?

Addicted to that hot chilli burn?

Then this recipe for Indonesian style eggs in spicy chilli sauce (sambal telur) is for you, my friend!

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The day we discovered Sambal Telur, it was just one of so many platters of spicy Indonesian goodies spread out before us as we took a seat on the cosy picnic blanket. Surrounded by friends and the smell of freshly cooked sates and curries, it was an Indonesian feast of epic proportions.

Here, a bowl of spicy fragrant Kari Ikan (a creamy Indonesian fish curry) sat waiting to be served. There, a stack of freshly fried Bakwan Jagung (Indonesian corn fritters) awaited a splash of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and tempted us with their crispy crunchy goodness.

In the centre of it all was a steaming bowl of white rice beside a small but aromatic bowl of Sambal Telur. We could almost taste the tingling zing of spice just looking at the boiled eggs in their coating of spicy sambal sauce.

I glanced across at our friend who’d brought us to this Indonesian food fiesta and asked ‘How hot do you think they will they be?’

Her reply was a smile and a giggle, and to that we simply said: “Challenge Accepted.”

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In Indonesia, there are literally hundreds of different varieties of sambal, and even more when you take into account all the varieties that can be found across Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Singapore and even Brunei.

All these different varieties can be broken down into two main categories – cooked sambal and raw sambal.

Cooked sambal is what you’ll find in recipes like today’s Sambal Telur (eggs) and Sambal Udang (prawns), while raw sambal is a condiment served on the side to add an extra kick of flavour and heat – just the way you like it!

How to Make Sambal Telur

It’s really easy to make your own Sambal Telur at home, especially if you use a premade sambal sauce. But if you want to make your own sambal, it’s easy to do that too!

Premade Chilli Sambal Sauce

We’ve found sambal sauce available in the Asian section of our local supermarket and at our local Asian grocery. The texture of premade sambals is usually a lot finer than hand ground sambal. Of course, you could always head online for sambal if that’s more convenient!

Homemade Chilli Sambal Sauce

Prefer to make your own sambal? It’s definitely going to give you a more intense, fresh flavour. All you need is a food processor, mortar and pestle (or even better, a traditional Indonesian ulekan+cobek (flat stone mortar and pestle)!) and the following flavour-packed ingredients:

• 6 – 8 fresh red chillis
• 2 shallots
• 1 tbsp belacan (shrimp paste)
• 1 clove garlic

All you need is a little elbow grease (or some lazy electricity!) to blend them all together until smooth.

Enak sekali!

Sambal Telur is best served along with your favourite Indonesian recipes and fluffy white rice. Why not whip up your own Indonesian Corn Fritters (Bakwan Jagung) or this creamy Indonesian Fish Curry (Kari Ikan).

Simple Sambal Telur - Eggs in Spicy Sambal Sauce

If you've never tried Sambal Telur (Boiled Eggs in Spicy Sambal Sauce) before, this South East Asian side dish is going to blow your tastebuds out of the water. Think the satisfying goodness of hardboiled eggs paired with the fiery heat of spicy Indonesian sambal sauce. It's time to get cooking so let's crank up the heat!

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Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Indonesian

Servings: 4

Author: Wandercooks

Ingredients

• 4 eggs boiled and peeled
• 6 tbsp sambal paste homemade as above or store bought
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• vegetable oil for cooking

Instructions

• Let's get this sambal party started!
• Heat up the oil in a medium saucepan and plonk in your onion rings. Saute until lovely and translucent (1-2 mins) but don't allow to burn as it will change the flavour.
• Next, pop in your sambal paste and kaffir lime leaves and <g class="gr_ gr_93 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling ins-del multiReplace" id="93" data-gr-id="93">stir fry</g> until the mixture has loosened and it's nice and fragrant. If it starts to burn, turn down the heat slightly and add a little water.
• Finally, add your boiled eggs into the pan with the sambal and stir fry until heated through (2-3 mins should do it!).
• Serve beside your favourite spicy curries and don't forget the rice!

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