Now we have been operating a scorching sauce firm for about 6.5 years, however after we have been rising up, our mom didn’t serve us spicy meals fairly often. If there was one thing spicy on the desk, it was typically a jar of sambal (from the grocery store) when she had made nasi goreng. For a lot of Dutch individuals, sambal might be the introduction to spicy meals or the “sauce” of alternative after they wish to add some spice to their dish. However what is definitely the distinction between the sambal that’s well-known to the Dutch and scorching sauce that’s far much less recognized to many?
We now dare to say that we’re “scorching sauce consultants”, however we all know rather less about sambal. That’s why we requested Nicole McMahon, from Bother & Spice, to make clear that distinction. That’s not ‘simply somebody’ we ask for this, as a result of she gained the award for Finest Sambal of 2023‘ on the Dutch Chili Fest final 12 months. We now give Nicole the ground!
Everyone knows Sizzling Ones, the place multi-millionaire celebrities cry over scorching sauce and hen wings. And if I invited you over for Sambal Hen Wings, you’d be there for positive, and possibly have a good suggestion of what I’m making. However what’s scorching sauce? And what’s sambal? And above all: what’s the distinction?
Distinction sambal & scorching sauce
It mainly comes down to 2 issues: consistency and geography! Sizzling sauce is historically a vinegar based mostly liquid (suppose Tabasco), and sambal is extra paste like. Nonetheless, a sambal might be fairly runny relying on the dish it’s served with. Sambal comes from South-East Asia, and is believed to have originated in Indonesia, which explains the Dutch sambal obsession. Sizzling sauces have been round for over 6,000 years within the Americas the place chilies are native, however can be referred to as salsas. They have been solely launched to Asia within the sixteenth Century. (Sure historians, there have been native scorching spices used previous to this to nice chilli free varieties of sambal, together with ginger, however the different spices are actually fairly uncommon and solely utilized in conventional medication.)
With the considerably current obsession with scorching sauce and rise of artisan scorching sauce manufacturers the choices are nearly countless; loopy scorching, fermented, fruity, or garlic packed to discourage dracula, there’s a scorching sauce for every part. Sambals are rather less ‘so scorching proper now’ with most makers sticking to tried and true formulation. A number of new ones on the scene embrace Sizzling Honey Sambal and Funky Vegan, utilizing fermented soy to imitate trassi. These are another spicy condiments, together with their distinctive qualities.
Salsa – Any sauce from spanish talking Americas – is that this a sambal or a scorching sauce? Historically made with a molcajete the feel is extra sambal than scorching sauce. Typically vinegar is used for preservation, whereas in different places salsas are made recent each day.
Shatta – A Palestinian fermented chilli paste lined with oil for preservation
Chilli Oil – Mexican salsa macha, or Chinese language Chilli Crisp, Sichuan Oil, or considerably newer chilli oils made with extracts to supply insane warmth ranges. Yum Phrik lately gained Finest Chilli Oil on the European Sizzling Sauce Awards, in a transfer from the standard utilizing kaffir lime leaves, roasted rice, and crispy ginger.
Have I helped, or simply added to the confusion? I’d say it’s a very good purpose to purchase a few of every and see for your self the distinction between a sambal and a scorching sauce. An amazing place to start out is that this Finest scorching sauce & sambal pack, with each of the award winners on the Dutch Chili Fest 2023 in a single pack.
