Fatalii Sambal Oelek

Last year I made Sambal Oelek from ripe Jalapeno peppers, and earlier this summer I made another batch from some red peppers and a few of the beautiful Fatalii chillies pictured above. I use sambal oelek often on everything from eggs, to stir fry, to pizza – to well… you name it. We like the heat which I find somewhat curious as we never had spicy food growing up. It was good food but not heavily seasoned.

Last week I harvested the above chillies and referred to them as habaneros and was quickly rebuked. In my defense I’ve not grown them before, and that is what the label said. In any event I believe them to be Fatalii as pointed out by a reader.  You have to wonder about a pepper that has the word FATAL right in the name!

I did take a small bite and will attest the wikipedia description is correct, this pepper is  fruity with citrus notes and has searing heat; yes, that’s about correct!

I wanted to capture this, but it was such a small amount I wasn’t sure I had enough mass to make a batch of sambal oelek. I resolved this by adding enough seeded sweet yellow bell peppers to make up the volume. The color is right and the heat of the Fatalii takes over.  I can’t imagine if it were straight Fatalii! As it is this stuff is blazing hot, but it doesn’t hit you all at once. Also the heat lingers with great flavor. Not for the faint of heart, but for those who like to feel the burn, I recommend this!

As it is so hot I used the smallest jars I could find which are the 4 oz jars. A little goes a long way!

Oh, if using the hot chillies, – I recommend you wear gloves and not touch any tender parts of your body until de-gloved and hands have been thoroughly washed.

Here is the basic recipe:

Fatalli Sambal Oelek

 
(makes about 8-10 4 oz jars)

1.5 quarts of ripe chillies  – for this it was about 2 cups of Fatalii and the balance in sweet yellow bell
1 tablespoon salt
1.5 cups white vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
Juice of 1 lemon

*If canning – prepare the jars and lids while the mixture is simmering.

1. Rinse peppers
2. Remove stems from the peppers and chop very fine. A food processor makes quick work of them – just be sure not to liquefy them
3. Add salt and stir – allow to sit for 3-4 hours (or overnight)
4. Add vinegar, lemon juice and sugar, stir and in a sauce pan over medium heat bring to a boil
5. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often for 15-30 minutes. (If you’re canning this is a great time to prep your jars)
6. Ladle hot pepper mixture into 1/4 (4 0z) pint jars leave 1/4″ head space
7. Process in hot water bath for 15 minutes

If any jars fail to seal, store those jars in the fridge.

These lovely jars belie their potent contents which will add bright heat to anything you choose to add them too!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!