← Back to all sauces
Sauce recipe

Sambal Kecap

Sweet soy, sliced chilli, shallot and lime. The Indonesian table sauce for anything off the grill.

Sambal Kecap
The ratio
  • 4 partsKecap manis
  • 1 partLime juice
What you need
  • 4 tbsp kecap manis
  • 1 tbsp lime juice (or calamansi)
  • 2-4 bird's eye chillies, thinly sliced
  • 2 red Asian shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 small garlic clove, very finely chopped, optional
  • 1/2 small tomato, finely diced, optional
Makes
About 80ml, enough for 4
Ready in
5
Keeps
Best fresh; 2 days in the fridge
How to make it
  1. Slice the chillies and shallots as thinly as you can.
  2. Stir the kecap manis and lime juice together in a small bowl.
  3. Add the chilli, shallot, and garlic and tomato if using. Leave for 5 minutes so the shallots soften slightly.
  4. Taste and add more lime for sharpness or more chilli for heat. Serve at room temperature.
About this sauce

Sambal kecap is the sweet, sharp dipping sauce you get alongside sate, grilled fish and fried chicken across Indonesia. It is not cooked: just kecap manis, the thick palm-sugar soy, stirred with raw chilli, shallot and a squeeze of lime.

It takes two minutes and is best made right before you eat, while the shallots are still crunchy. Make it as hot as you like by adjusting the bird's eye chillies.

What to put it on

Sate, grilled chicken, ikan bakar, fried tofu and tempeh, fried rice and martabak.

Serve it with sate ayam, ikan bakar, ayam bakar or ayam goreng. Read about kecap manis if you have never bought it.

Uses this sauce

Recipes that call for this sauce. Make a batch and cook one of these.

Pairs well with

Dishes this sauce suits. These recipes make their own glaze or dressing, so you can swap this sauce in.