Ayam Sambal Matah Bali - Pan Fried Chicken with Balinese Salsa

Bali, the land of a thousand temples, is the most famous island in Indonesia. The view is gorgeous and breathtaking, from the wide expanse of white sandy beaches, to the many Hindu temples, and the cool and green hilly rice terraces.

Many come for the visual treats, but if you have the chance to visit Bali, don’t forget to feast on the amazing Balinese cuisine. Every time I go and visit, the highlight of my vacation is always the food.

What is Sambal Matah?

Each region in Indonesia has its signature sambal, and Bali’s signature sambal is sambal matah. The most common translation for sambal matah is raw sambal since there is no cooking involved when preparing it. Based on the ingredients, I think it is more fitting to call it a spicy lemongrass salsa, or a spicy lemongrass and shallot salsa.

Sambal Matah Ingredients

We will needs shallots, lemongrass, bird-eye chilies, lime juice, olive oil, salt, and terasi/shrimp paste. You can also add garlic, kaffir lime leaves, and bunga kantan/torch ginger flower.

Terasi (shrimp paste)

Since terasi (shrimp paste) can be difficult to obtain if you live outside of Indonesia, feel free to substitute with fish sauce. Although it won’t be very authentic, the flavor is still very similar, and the umami boost from fish sauce is very close to Indonesian shrimp paste.

Lime juice

It is more common in Bali to use kaffir lime for the lime juice. Kaffir lime leaves are common in many Asian groceries in the US, but I have yet to see fresh kaffir limes. I use regular lime to prepare sambal matah all the time, and I think it is not a bad substitute at all.

Bird-eye chilies

Use red bird-eye chilies (Indonesian: cabe rawit) for the most authentic experience. If you want a milder sambal matah, you can substitute half of the amount with milder chilies. Try using cayenne (Indonesian: cabe keriting), or even Fresno (Indonesian: cabe besar) for an even milder option.

Olive oil vs. coconut oil

If you have coconut oil at home, defiinitely use that instead of olive oil. Coconut oil is a common cooking oil in Indonesia, so it is not surprising that we use coconut oil for sambal matah.

How to prepare sambal matah?

1. Slice lemongrass

Remove the green outer layers of lemongrass to reveal the inner white portion. Chop away the top part of the lemongrass, then thinly slice the bottom 5 inches of the lemongrass stalk into very thin slices.

2. Slice shallot

Prepare shallots like you would an onion. Peel away the outer skins, then cut the shallots into small dices.

3. Chop bird-eye chilies

Remove the stems, then cut the chilies into small pieces. You can remove the seeds first before chopping the chilies to make the sambal milder.

4. Toast and ground terasi/shrimp paste

Terasi/shrimp paste comes in a block. Use a knife to cut away a small piece, place it in a microwave-safe bowl, and cover the bowl with a microwave-safe plate.

Cook in the microwave for 30 seconds to toast until the shrimp paste turns a lighter shade, very fragrant, and looks crumbly. Let it cool slightly, then use the back of a spoon to crush into a fine powder.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can also toast the shrimp paste in a frying pan without any oil over medium heat.

5. Juice a lime

Use fresh limes whenever possible since bottled lime juice is simply not very good. If you have a Microplane grater, you should use it to get some fresh lime zest too and add the zest to sambal matah.

6. Make sambal matah

Combine lemongrass slices, shallot slices, bird-eye chili slices, shrimp paste powder, salt, lime juice, and optionally, lime zest in a mixing bowl.

Even though sambal matah is meant to be raw, most Indonesians cook the oil until shimmering before using it. Please assemble the rest of the sambal matah ingredients first before cooking the oil, then pour the hot oil over the sambal.

Use a spoon to mix all the ingredients. Give it a taste test, and add more salt if needed. You can even add sugar if you think the sambal needs it, though I don’t usually add any to mine.

Prepare pan-fried chicken breasts

You can certainly serve sambal matah as a side for any of your Indonesian rice meal, but today we are going to serve it with some crispy golden pan-fried chicken breast strips.

We will use some chicken breasts, salt, pepper, and all-purpose flour. I use olive oil to pan-fry the chicken, but you can use butter or a mix of butter and olive oil for the best of both worlds.

First, cut each peach of chicken breast into two halves so they are thinner and will cook faster and more evenly. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, then give a light dusting of all-purpose flour.

Heat oil and/or butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat, and fry chicken breasts until golden brown and crispy, about 2-3 minutes per side.

Rest for 10 minutes after frying to redistribute its juice and making sure the breasts are tender and juicy, then cut into thin strips.

Mix chicken strips and sambal matah right before serving.

TIPS: If you don’t feel like frying chicken breasts, you can buy a whole rotisserie chicken, cut it into bite-size pieces, and mix with sambal matah.

Other Indonesian sambal to try

For most Indonesians, a meal is not complete without a side of sambal or two. If you hunger for more Indonesian sambal, you can give my other sambal recipes a try:

• ayam dabu-dabu
• sambal terasi
• sambal tomat
• sambal bajak
• sambal bawang
• sambal berambang asem
• sambal nenas
• sambal mangga
• sambal tomat kecap