Fresh Salsa of Bali: Sambal Matah

First, I realize certain ingredients for some recipes can be difficult to find, but often there are easier to find substitutes. Shrimp paste, which is indeed a paste, should be easily found in the Asian section of your supermarket or in Asian grocery stores, but you can substitute fish sauce, which is a liquid and pretty much available everywhere. Shallots are closely related to onions and garlic, and indeed, they have a taste that mimics something of a combination of the two. Lemongrass is a grassy plant generally from Asia and Africa, and it smells and tastes lemony. It "sort of resembles" green onions (also called spring onions or scallions), and besides its culinary uses, it is used in medicines, deodorizers and such. It is available in many supermarket produce sections and Asian, especially South and Southeast Asian markets. I have bought it both fresh and frozen at the West Side Market here in Cleveland. You can substitute some fresh lemon peel for lemongrass. 

"Sambal matah" is a fresh salsa or relish; that is, it's preparation does not generally require cooking, although it may be added to recipes that do require cooking. It is a common feature on the Indonesian island of Bali. It is not the same as "sambal oelek," a type of thick hot chili sauce, which has become quite well known in the U.S., and in other parts of the world too, I'm sure.   

Ingredients:

2 red chilies (cayenne or ripened serrano peppers), halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped
2 green chilies (serrano or jalapeño), halved lengthwise, seeded and finely chopped
1 medium sized garlic clove, minced 
2 shallots, finely chopped (or 2 green onions, white part only)
2/3 teaspoon shrimp paste (or 1 teaspoon fish sauce)
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, chopped (or substitute 2 or 3 strips of fresh lemon peel, minced)
1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
2/3 teaspoon brown sugar
pinch salt
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 tablespoon lime juice

If using shrimp paste, put the paste into a small non stick skillet over low heat to toast it for just a couple of minutes, scraping and stirring constantly. Break up the shrimp paste and add it to your bowl. If you are using fish sauce instead of shrimp paste, just add it to the other ingredients, no heating required. Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix gently, but well. Can be served at room temperature or chilled.   

Fish fillets with sambal matah...

Sambal matah with fried chicken breast ...

WORD HISTORY:
Relish-This word is distantly related to "slack," a word from the Germanic roots of English, and to "lax," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English. It goes back to Indo European "sleg," which had the notion, "to be loose, or slack." This gave Latin the verb "laxare," meaning, "to loosen, to make slack." Latin then added the "re" prefix, which meant many things, among them: "once more, again, back," and this gave Latin "relaxare," meaning, "to loosen, to slacken, to stretch, to make wide, to undo." This passed into Latin-based Old French as "relaisser/relaschier," meaning, "to relax, to release;" thus also, "to leave out, to leave on its own, to leave behind," which produced the noun "reles" (originally "relais"), meaning, "aftertaste" (that is, "the taste left behind"), and then simply "taste." English borrowed the word (circa 1500), and the meaning expanded to "enjoyment of a taste or flavor," and the verb developed in the mid 1500s meaning, "to enjoy the taste of something," then later it expanded to simply, "enjoyment of something, not necessarily of food;" thus we have a fairly common expression, "I relish the thought of going on vacation." The noun meaning developed to, "flavorful addition to food, a condiment," in about 1800, the primary meaning of the noun up to present times. (Note: In American English,^ but I'm not certain about English in other parts of the world, "relish" means "primarily chopped up pickles with some other ingredients that produces a thick, but moist, mixture that is commonly added to hamburgers, hotdogs or other sandwiches; and it is sometimes made to be sweet in flavor, and sometimes made to be more tart. My point here is that to Americans, the word "relish" is not a general word, but rather a specific product made from pickles as the main ingredient. There are other types of relish, but they are specifically called "tomato relish," "cranberry relish," "corn relish," or others. The Indian Subcontinent is the home of "chutney," a relish made from any number of fruits, vegetables and herbs that are eaten alongside a meal or with some type of Indian flatbread, but "chutney" is used as a general word.)

 ^ I "assume" Canadians are very similar to Americans in the use of the word "relish," but I'm not 100% certain of that.