Homemade Chilli Paste

In Malaysia, this chilli paste is commonly known as cili boh, sold as ready made pastes. Overseas, Malaysians/Indonesians have resorted to purchasing the ready made Indonesian Sambal Oelek, which I once used in my undergraduate years, or making their own homemade chilli pastes. I personally prefer to make a homemade one in order to avoid the preservatives present in the ready-made ones sold in the stores.


Homemade Chilli Paste

• A ready-made version sold in Asian grocery stores is Sambal Oelek (yes, with that exact spelling)
• 1. Pick off the stems.
• 2. Soak the dried chillies in very hot water, keeping them submerged by putting a bowl or small plate on top, for half an hour or till softened and rehydrated
• 3. Blend with enough water to make a wet paste.
  
• 4. Add salt (about 1 teaspoon per cup of chilli paste).
  
• The addition of salt I gleaned from my mother in law.
  
• I usually make a mixture of Chilli Japones (small and hotter) and Chilli California (bigger and less hot), with a ratio of 1:3, Chilli California being 1/3 and Chilli Japones being 2/3, so I would not end up with a chilli paste that is too spicy, especially when making Sambal. Sometimes, I would use Chilli Ancho (way bigger and sweeter, even less hot) to tone down the spice level.
• If you don't use them too often, either make a small batch, or keep them in the freezer, because they will get moldy if left to sit in the refrigerator too long.