Chef Joost
Acar Ketimun (Indo-Dutch Cucumber Pickle)
Acar means pickle, ketimun means cucumber, and this little bowl of sweet vinegar, chilli, and crunch is the cool note that lets an Indo-Dutch rijsttafel keep its balance.
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Sambal Trassi
Created by
Pungent in the jar, necessary on the plate: sambal trassi is the small red spoonful that makes the Indo-Dutch table speak plainly.
Sauces & Condiments
Dutch
Make Ahead
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
15 min
Active Time
10 min cook•25 min total
Yield1 small jar, about 200ml
The first time a Dutch child meets trassi, someone usually says: don't smell it yet, just wait until it cooks. This is good advice and poor scholarship. The smell is the story. Fermented shrimp paste is not polite. It announces the sea, salt, heat, and time before the pan has even warmed, and then, once it meets oil and chili, it becomes the deep savoury note without which the whole table feels unfinished.
The name already tells you the journey. Sambal is the Indonesian word for a chili relish or paste; trassi is the Dutch spelling of Indonesian terasi, fermented shrimp paste. Nothing about that name is trying to pass as old Holland, and that is exactly why it belongs so firmly to the Dutch table now. The Indo-Dutch kitchen is not decoration added later. It is a history of colony, return, memory, and family dinners where the rice was plain because the sambal was not.
But let me tell you a secret. The trick is not to make this fierce for the sake of bravery. A proper sambal trassi should be hot, yes, but also rounded: chili for fire, shallot and garlic for sweetness, tamarind or lime for sourness, palm sugar for balance, and trassi for that dark little undertow. Hou het altijd simpel, always keep it simple. Fry the paste until the raw edge leaves it, taste, adjust, and put a small jar on the table. Everyone decides their own courage.
Sambal trassi entered Dutch home cooking through the former Dutch East Indies, especially Java, where sambal and terasi were everyday companions to rice long before they appeared in Dutch supermarkets. After Indonesian independence and the migrations of Indo-European, Moluccan, and Indonesian families to the Netherlands in the 1940s and 1950s, sambal became a fixture of the Indo-Dutch table, served with rijsttafel, nasi goreng, bami, eggs, and plain rice. Its heat comes from chilies that reached Southeast Asia after the Columbian exchange, while its fermented shrimp paste belongs to much older coastal preservation traditions.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
red chilies
Quantity
8
stems removed and roughly chopped
bird's eye chilies (optional)
Quantity
3
stems removed
shallots
Quantity
3
roughly chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
2
roughly chopped
trassi or terasi
Quantity
2 teaspoons
toasted
neutral oil
Quantity
2 tablespoons
palm sugar or dark brown sugar
Quantity
1 tablespoon
tamarind water or fresh lime juice
Quantity
1 tablespoon
fine salt
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
plus more to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| red chiliesstems removed and roughly chopped | 8 |
| bird's eye chilies (optional)stems removed | 3 |
| shallotsroughly chopped | 3 |
| garlic clovesroughly chopped | 2 |
| trassi or terasitoasted | 2 teaspoons |
| neutral oil | 2 tablespoons |
| palm sugar or dark brown sugar | 1 tablespoon |
| tamarind water or fresh lime juice | 1 tablespoon |
| fine saltplus more to taste | 1/2 teaspoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Small frying pan
- •Mortar and pestle or small food processor
- •Clean 250ml jar
Instructions
- 1
Toast the trassi
Wrap the trassi in a small piece of foil and toast it in a dry pan over medium heat for two to three minutes, turning once. It will smell assertive. Good. Raw trassi is blunt and fishy; toasted trassi becomes deeper, saltier, and ready to disappear into the sambal instead of shouting over it.
- 2
Make the paste
Pound the chilies, shallots, garlic, and toasted trassi in a mortar until rough and juicy, or pulse them in a small food processor. Do not make it perfectly smooth. Sambal should still have a little texture, enough that the chili skins and shallot catch the oil.
- 3
Fry it gently
Warm the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat, then add the paste. Fry for six to eight minutes, stirring often, until the colour darkens from bright red to brick red and the oil begins to glisten at the edges. This is the important part: you're cooking out the raw garlic and chili, not scorching them into bitterness.
If the paste sticks before it darkens, add a teaspoon of water and keep stirring. A sambal may be fierce, but the pan should stay civilized. - 4
Balance the sambal
Stir in the palm sugar, tamarind water or lime juice, and salt. Cook for one minute more, then taste carefully. You want heat first, then salt, then a small sour lift at the end. If it tastes flat, add salt. If it tastes harsh, add a pinch more sugar. If it feels heavy, add a few drops more lime.
- 5
Jar and rest
Spoon the sambal into a clean jar and let it cool before covering. It can be eaten at once, but after a night in the refrigerator the trassi settles into the chili and the whole thing becomes rounder. Serve in small spoonfuls beside rice, eggs, grilled fish, nasi goreng, or anything that needs waking up.
Chef Tips
- •Buy trassi or terasi from an Indonesian or Asian grocer if you can. A small block wrapped in paper is often better than a jar that has sat open too long; it should smell strong, salty, and marine, not rancid.
- •Control the heat by choosing your chilies, not by apologizing at the table. Use mostly mild red chilies for a rounded sambal, then add bird's eye chilies only as far as your household actually eats them.
- •Use a mortar if you have one. The pestle bruises the chili and shallot into a rough paste with better texture than a machine gives, though a small processor is an honest modern servant.
Advance Preparation
- •Best made one day ahead; the sambal keeps its heat but the trassi becomes better integrated overnight.
- •Keeps up to two weeks refrigerated in a clean jar. Cover the surface with a thin film of oil if storing longer than a few days, and always use a clean spoon.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 15g)
Calories
35 calories
Total Fat
2 g
Saturated Fat
0 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
2 g
Cholesterol
1 mg
Sodium
160 mg
Total Carbohydrates
3 g
Dietary Fiber
0 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
1 g
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