Sambal is a sauce or condiment typically made from chili peppers and combined with secondary ingredients such as shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, scallion, sugar, and vinegar. Tamarind can also be seen commonly added to sambal to make variations on the condiment. I wanted to keep it simple and prepare a very easy sambal that you can make at home to re-create an authentic and real taste.

Boiling and then blending the dried chilies make a great basic chili paste which can be used in frying cauliflower rice and zoodles or some stir-fries. Though a chili paste itself is not sambal yet. A sambal is a chili paste added with other ingredients, usually blended together, and then eaten raw or cooked beforehand. For this specific sambal, we use it in our Ketogenic Nasi Lemak.

Remember, the smaller the chili used, the spicier the sambal will be. Make sure that you remove the seeds of the chilis and wash before boiling.

Warning: Boiling the dried chilis can be quite aromatic, and might smell weird to some people. So, you might want to open a window to ensure proper ventilation if you find that you’re easily overwhelmed with strong smells.

Yields 10 tbsp. of Sambal


  • 1 large Onion, blended
  • 0.35 oz. Dried Chilis
  • 3 tbsp. Reduced Sugar Ketchup
  • 1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste)
  • 2 tbsp. Coconut Oil
  • 1-2 drops Liquid Sucralose (Optional)


1. Roughly chop 1 large Onion and blend until smooth. Set aside.


2. To prepare chili paste, roughly cut about 0.35 oz. Dried Chilis and remove seeds. Boil them for about 30 minutes or until soft.


3. Once soft and cooled, blend to a paste.


4. In a heated pan on medium heat, melt 2 tbsp. Coconut Oil. Once hot, add in the blended Onion and Dried Chillies, 3 tbsp. Reduced Sugar Ketchup and 1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste). Let simmer for a few minutes until the oil separates from the sauce.

Optional: add in 1-2 drops Liquid Sucralose or any other sweetener.


5. Use this sambal as a sauce or a cooking seasoning in future recipes! This sauce is featured in theKetogenic Nasi Lemak recipe.


This makes about 10 tbsp. of Sambal. Each tablespoon comes out to be 36 Calories, 3.1g Fats, 1.7g Net Carbs, and 0.3g Protein.

1 large Onion, blended 39 0.2 9.3 1.4 7.9 1.3
0.35 oz. Dried Chillies 32.4 0.6 7 2.9 4.1 1.1
3 tbsp. Reduced Sugar Ketchup 28.8 0.0 5.4 0 5.4 0.6
1/2 tsp. Salt (or to taste) 0 0 0 0 0 0
2 tbsp. Coconut Oil 258.6 30 0 0 0 0
1-2 drops Liquid Sucralose 0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals 358.8 30.8 21.7 4.3 17.4 3.0
Totals Per Tbsp. ( /10 ) 35.9 3.1 2.2 0.4 1.7 0.3