How to make sambal milder
Have you just made a good sambal as the finishing touch for your nasi, only to realize—oops—it’s a little too good? As in: way too spicy. Whether you’re making sambal oelek or manis, these ingredients will help fix it.
Sugar rush
Sugar, honey or soy sauce are your sweet salvation in an emergency when you want to give your sambal a little more balance. Adding something with a sweet flavor will immediately make your sambal milder. Mashed pineapple (amount to taste) is also an option. You’ll barely taste the pineapple, but it will make your sambal milder.
Acid
Something sour will also work wonders for your sambal. Add a little lime juice. It won’t just enrich the flavor; it will also immediately make your sambal milder. Is vinegar on your sambal’s ingredient list? Then you can make your sambal less spicy by adding just a little extra.
And more…
Surinamese sambal is made with, among other things, piccalilli and Madame Jeanette peppers. Has your sambal become too hot? Then simply double the amount of piccalilli in the recipe. Piccalilli is made from pickled vegetables, so there’s no pepper involved. Scoop away from that jar of piccalilli. Not a piccalilli fan? Adding tomato will also give your sambal a milder flavor.
Want to keep your sambal as neutral as possible? Then you can cook the sambal briefly with pieces of potato. Potatoes absorb the flavor of everything they’re cooked in.
Rescuing a spicy dish
Were you a little too enthusiastic and have you already added the sambal to your food? No stress. Even then, your food can still be saved. First aid for a mouth that’s on fire, coming your way.
This solution (if you were too lazy to read that article, the answer is dairy) is actually pretty logical. If dairy helps you after a bite of overly spicy food, it can of course also help make your dish milder. But be careful: this solution isn’t suitable for every dish. Gado gado with sour cream? Not for me.
Take your pick
Adding something sweet or sour (in fact, all the solutions just mentioned) will also help with your dish. Because hey, what sugar can do for your sambal, it can also do for your dish. Still, we should mention that you’d better not cook your (already prepared) nasi goreng with potatoes. Just in case.
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