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For the Indian dish, see Sambar (dish). For the ethnic group, see Sambal people. For the language, see Sambal language.

Sambal is a condiment used in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka, made from a variety of peppers, although chilli peppers are the most common. Sambal is used as a condiment or as a side dish, and is sometimes substituted for fresh chillis; it can be very hot for the uninitiated. It is available at exotic food markets or gourmet departments in supermarkets in numerous countries.

The most common kinds of peppers used in Sambal are:

• Adyuma - also known as habanero. These are usually yellow and blocky (like a miniature paprika). Very hot.
• Cayenne pepper - These are usually red and blocky (see above). Very hot! There are, however a number of similar looking peppers which are much milder. These can be recognized by their shiny(ier) appearance.
• Madame Jeanette - Yellow or light green elongated kind of pepper. They have a bit of an irregular shape. These are hot and very aromatic
• Cabe Rawit (bird's eye chilli) - Elongated and tiny. These are red or green and very hot. Cabe is pronounced as "chabeh".
• Spanish peppers (chilli peppers) or lombok (Javanese) - These are elongated and have a red or green colour. These are relatively mild, the green ones being milder than the red ones.
• Naga jolokia - sometimes it called cabe taliwang, very atomic hot (800.000 Scoville scale) or almost ten times much hotter than cabe rawit (Thai pepper)

Sambal is thicker and richer tasting than Mexican salsa. It ranges in hotness from mildly sharp to incendiary. There are a number of varieties, including:

Sambal Asam

This is similar to Sambal Trassi with an addition of asam tamarind concentrate. 'Asam' means sour in the Malay language.

Sambal Bajak

Chilli (or another kind of red pepper) fried with oil, garlic, trassi, KuKui and other condiments (darker, richer in flavor).

Sambal Balado

Minangkabau style Sambal. Chilli sauteed with oil, garlic, onion, tomato, salt and lemon or lime juice.

Sambal Belacan

A Malay style sambal. Chilli is pounded together with a little toasted belacan in a stone mortar. Tomatoes are optional ingredients. Sometimes, sweet sour mangoes or equivalent local fruits are added. Salt, sugar and lime juice are the last items added. Eaten with cucumbers or 'ulam' (local leafy herbs) to add zing to a meal of rice and other dishes. A Malaysian Chinese version is to fry belacan with chilli.

Sambal Tumis

Chilli fried with belacan shrimp paste, onions, garlic, tamarind juice. It may be mixed with other ingredients to produce dishes such as sambal kangkong, sambal sotong (squid) and sambal telur (egg).

Sambal Kemiri

This is similar to Sambal Trassi with an addition of kemiri/KuKui a.k.a. Candlenuts.

Sambal Manis

Chilli, onions and sugar (mild, sweet)

Sambal Trassi

Modern Indonesian is "Terasi"; it is the same as Malaysian Belacan. Red and green peppers, trassi, sugar, salt, lemon or lime juice (tangy, strong). One version omit the lime juice and has the sambal fried with pounded tomatoes.

Sambal Udang

Chilli fried with oil, garlic, shrimp paste (pronounced sea flavor).

Sambal Ulek (Oelek) 

Chilli (bright red, thin and sharp tasting). Optionally, some recipes call for the addition of salt or lime into the red mixture. Oelek is a Dutch spelling which in modern Indonesian spelling has became simply Ulek; both have the same pronunciation. Ulek is Indonesian special stoneware derived from prehistoric household kitchenware that is still being used actively in most Indonesian kitchens, particularly in Java. It is a stone pestle (called ulekan) with a mortar (ulek-ulek) made from an old and matured bamboo root, that is used for crushing chillies, peppers, shallots, peanuts, and other kinds of ingredients.

Sambal Jeruk

Green pepper with lemon. (colourless, adds taste). In Malaysia, it is called cili (chilli) jeruk. However, the lime is substituted with vinegar and sugar. Used as condiment to fried rice and noodle based dishes.

Sambal Setan

A very hot sambal with Madame Jeanette peppers (red brownish, very sharp). The name literally means "Devil's Sauce".

Sambal Pedas Pedas

Extra hot Sambal Ulek.

Sambal Taliwang

Perhaps this is the hottest sambal ever, native from Taliwang, a village near Mataram, Lombok Island. Made from atomic hot naga jolokia pepper grown specially in Lombok, some garlic and Lombok shrimp paste. A kilogram of naga jolokia pepper is extracted, ground and pressed until only 100 grams remain. This is mixed with ground garlic and shrimp paste, then cooked with some vegetable oil. This sambal is a supplementary daily food.

• Indonesian cuisine
• Cuisine of Malaysia
• Cuisine of Singapore