Chicken Sambal Balado

For some reason, Balado (an Indonesian sambal sauce) left an impression on me. I had some Chicken Bumbu Balado at a ladies gathering and I couldn't stop eating this dish. The sauce came in a bottle so it is on my next buying list. The next day, I saw Brinjal Balado at Gert's blog and she told me why buy when it is so easy to make at home. But you know me, I would still love to buy the sauce if I can but sadly I couldn't find it at my local Asian store. Frustrated, I IM Lily about it and she told it was like sambal tumis and asked me to make my own. I told her yeah it is like sambal tumis with added tomatoes but I don't buy tomatoes. But I know I can substitute it with ketchup, so here is my version of homemade chicken sambal balado with added red bell peppers, carrots and lemon grass. Next time I should add yellow onion or more shallots because it is so good with the sauce. Quite spicy too I might say!





Ingredients:

• 1 chicken breast, thinly sliced, marinate with salt and cornstarch
• 1 lemon grass, sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 carrot, thinly sliced

Seasonings:

• 1 Tbsp. Sambal Oelek
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 tsp. salt
• Brown sugar, to taste
• Lime juice, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 cup water

Method:

1. Heat oil in wok. When heated, add in lemon grass and shallots, fry until fragrant. Add in garlic, fry for a while then add in marinated chicken slices. Stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink.

2. Add in red bell peppers and carrots and fry until soften. Lastly add in water and seasonings. Season to taste and dish out to serve. The sambal oelek I bought this time is quite spicy so I did not put much as my daughters want to eat too but still turned out quite spicy.