Sambal Potatoes With Aioli

Author Notes

I grew up in a home where hot chile sambal took center stage at our dinner table. The fiery condiment, which originated in Java, Indonesia, was lovingly ground into a paste by the sturdy, determined hands of my Indonesian grandmother in a flat stone mortar and pestle known as a cobek and ulekan. The stinging bite of chile filled the air as the paste first kissed the wok’s hot oil, the fragrance of shallot and garlic embracing the room as it softened and caramelized.

My younger self would gaze upon the ruby-colored sambal, my palate not yet conditioned for its enveloping heat. There is an Indonesian saying that a meal is not complete without sambal, and as time went on, sambal became entwined with my culinary existence and identity. Its absence felt like a meal washed of color. For me, sambal has always been a reminder of family and home, and those hot afternoons in the kitchen with my grandmother as she beat the ingredients down to submission.

In Indonesia, a little sambal is eaten with every bite of food. You’ll find it served with noodles, fried rice, plonked into soups and curries, dolloped over fritters, and even eaten on its own with just a plain bowl of rice. So when the idea struck to pair crisp, golden chunks of potatoes with sambal, a nod to the iconic patatas bravas dish revered in Spain, where fried potatoes are served on a bed of spicy tomato sauce and topped with aioli, I ran immediately to the kitchen.

While traditional patatas bravas and most Indonesian potato recipes deep-fry the potatoes, I’ve opted for roasting them in the oven until golden, for ease. This simple sambal begins with a paste of red chiles, garlic, shallots, and ginger, a quintessential base for many Indonesian meals. Pan-fry in oil, then simmer with sweet tinned tomatoes. The sauce, once reduced, reaches a peak of tomatoey umaminess—hot enough to warmly tingle your mouth, without overpowering the lively balance of flavors dancing across your tongue.

A good rule of thumb when buying chiles is to use varieties that are the width of your index finger, with a length of 4 to 8 inches, as these will typically provide a moderate level of heat. Examples that work well are cayenne, aji sivri, dagger pod, Holland red finger, or jwala finger, all around 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU). Fresno or cowhorn chiles are milder (around 10,000 SHU), but they won't give the sensation of heat that sambal is famous for. If in doubt, nibble the end of the chile and eat one of the seeds. If you’re reaching for milk, deseed. —Lara Lee