The House of Spices

What is Peanut Sauce?

Peanut sauce, also known as ‘sambal kacang’, is an authentic Indonesian sauce that is made with roasted or fried peanuts. It’s so rich, flavourful and nutty. Traditionally, peanut sauce is made using roasted ground peanuts, crushed using a mortar and pestle to achieve the desired texture and graininess. However, if you decide to use a blender/food processor (like me), you will still attain an amazing and earthy flavour that you find in Indonesian restaurants across the globe!

 

In most western countries today, peanut butter is used to make peanut sauce instead of actual peanuts. Although peanut butter is a great substitute, I would never want to make peanut sauce with peanut butter nor would I recommend you to try it because it tastes completely different from traditional peanut sauce. Peanut butter has added ingredients and makes the sauce smooth and runny, which makes it completely different from traditional peanut sauce.

 

Making peanut sauce the traditional and authentic way does take slightly more time and effort, however once you know how to make it, it is so easy to make it in bulk and store it in the freezer. I promise you once you have tried this recipe, there is no turning back for you.

 

How do I serve the peanut sauce?

The peanut sauce is served best with Satay. However, you can serve it with any Indonesian dish including gado-gado, ketoprak, nasi lengko, pecel, rujak, ketan or anything else! It also works amazingly well over some deep fried or Vietnamese spring rolls. Sometimes, I love to indulge in the sauce as a dip with some slices of cucumber, fruits or Indonesian fryums (kerupuk).

 

Do I need special peanuts to make this recipe?

You need regular peanuts (groundnuts) to make this recipe! The peanuts come with a thin layer of (dark brown) skin over them that you don’t need to peel. Don’t try to make this recipe using any other type of nuts, including spiced/flavoured peanuts.

 

Can I make the sauce without chillies?

The red chillies give the sauce the red colour, as well as an amazing flavour. If you can’t eat spicy food, I would recommend cutting down on the small red chillies as they contribute towards the spiciness. The big red chillies just add colour so you should be fine with it! However, every chilli will be different and you never know how spicy your sauce will turn out until it’s ready. If your sauce is too spicy, add more peanuts and increase the quantity of jaggery and sweet soy sauce to balance it out.

 

What is sweet soy sauce?

Sweet soy sauce (also known as kecap manis in Indonesia) is an aromatic sweet sauce which is dark, viscous syrupy in consistency and made of palm sugar and fermented soy beans. It’s got a caramel-like flavour with a mildly smoky undertone. It makes a useful condiment and can also be used as an ingredient for adding flavor and colour to a lot of Indonesian and Chinese recipes.

 

How thick does the peanut sauce need to be?

The secret to a great peanut sauce lies in its texture and consistency. You want the peanut sauce not too thick and not too watery - somewhere in the middle! You also want it to be slightly grainy.

 

The consistency of the sauce depends on the amount of water you add into it. If you think that your sauce is too thick, add some warm water to loosen it up. If you think that the sauce is too runny, set it aside for a while and the sauce will thicken on its own! 

 

Can I bake the peanuts instead of frying them?

Yes, you can! If you prefer, you can roast the peanuts in the oven instead of frying them. The peanut sauce will take much more time if you decide to roast the peanuts and furthermore, your sauce will have a different colour and a slightly different taste. Frying the peanuts will result in a dark brown colour sauce whereas if you roast them in the oven, your sauce will be lighter in colour. 

 

Having tested both types of sauces, I prefer the taste of fried peanuts. However, considering the health factor, I’ve used very little oil to fry these peanuts! This means that you’ll get that amazing colour and nutty flavour without having to deep fry the peanuts. Having said that, if you still want to deep fry the peanuts, you can totally go for it!

 

Can we use cashew nuts instead?

Yes, you can! However, if you use cashew nuts, your sauce will be very thick and heavy. I’m not fond of making it using cashews mainly because it's not authentic and tastes slightly different too! If you run short of peanuts, then I would suggest you add some cashew nuts as well. Otherwise, please don’t try making this with cashew nuts only.

 

Can I use a mortar and pestle instead of a blender/food processor?

Yes, you can! The peanut sauce tastes incredible if you use a mortar and pestle. However, making peanut sauce using it requires a lot of time and effort. If you have time around, you can go ahead using a mortar and pestle. However, I prefer to use a blender/food processor as it saves a lot of time!

 

Can I make the peanut sauce in advance and store it?

Yes! Once your sauce is ready, leave it to cool down before popping it into the freezer. You can pop it into a large single container or divide it into small zip-lock bags (based on your serving size) before freezing them. If you portion it out and freeze them, it makes it so much easier for you to use it later.

 

It is worth noting that the peanut sauce will become quite thick in the freezer! Hence, when you are ready to serve it, you can add warm water to loosen it up and bring it back to the right consistency.

 

Any substitute for the ingredients mentioned?

This recipe uses basic ingredients that you probably already have at home! Unfortunately, there are no major substitutes to make this authentic Indonesian peanut sauce recipe. You can however use brown sugar instead of jaggery and regular soy sauce (with more jaggery/sugar) instead of sweet soy sauce.

 

Any cooking tips for this recipe?

This recipe is very straightforward and there are minimum chances of going wrong. Just ensure you measure all your ingredients and keep tasting the sauce while preparing it. Adjust the taste of the sauce (to your liking) before serving. Here’s some tips on what to do if you go wrong! 

 

1. My sauce is too spicy: Add more jaggery and sweet soy sauce to fix the issue. You can add water if required.

2. My sauce is too salty: Add in more water along with jaggery, sweet soy sauce and chilli to balance the flavours.

3. My sauce is too sweet: Add more chillies and a pinch of salt to balance it out. You can add water if required.