About Bumbu, Sambal, Nam Prik and the ways to make them

A “Cobet” (the bowl) and “Ulekan” (the grinder).

In Thailand, a spice mixture as a base for a dish is called “Kreung Geang. In Indonesia and Malaysia it is called “Bumbu”. There is no basic difference. “Nam Prik”, the generic term for the spicy sauce eaten with rice, vegetables, (mostly unripe) fruits and fish is called Sambal in Indonesia. Although there are differences in recipes it more or less means the same thing, albeit in Indonesia it also includes the “Sambal Goreng” which are usually spicy sauces incorporating ingredients like shrimp, fish, vegetables, eggs, fruits and so on which are fried together.
The word “Sambol” used in Sri Lanka for similar spicy preparations is obviously related to the Malay word “Sambal”. Initially I thought that the Indonesians must have borrowed the word from the Singhalese but when I had some well educated people from “Serindip” for lunch one day I asked them their opinion and they assured me that the “Sambal” or Sambol” was introduced to Sri Lanka by the Dutch colonial army when it was under Dutch rule in the seventeenth and eighteenth century. This army, consisting primarily out of Indonesians, citizens of what is now called Malaysia as well as soldiers recruited from Holland and other European countries, were usually accompanied by their families and paramours. I believe that this is still customary in the Indonesian army - at least it was in the fifties. The cooking for this motley army was, of course, done by the ladies, and must have had a profound influence on the indigenous cuisine of Sri Lanka or Ceylon. Nowadays one notices many Dutch and Indonesian influences in Sri Langkan cooking as well as those of the Portuguese who were there before the Dutch. The British, who in their turn kicked out the Dutch, are not much in evidence on the present day Sri Langkan menu.
To make a “Nam Prik” (literally a chilli sauce) or a “Sambal”, one needs a mortar and pestle or, as is customary in some parts of Indonesia like Java, a flat stone bowl (“Cobet”, pronounced Chobet) and a tool which rubs and grinds the spices until fine, called “Ulekan” (see illustration). The latter may be made from wood or stone. One of my Eurasian “Tantes” I previously wrote about was nicknamed Ulek because as a young girl she was a master of the art of grinding spices in a “Cobet” at the family home.
These days many people use a blender or a spice grinder to make their “Kreung” or “Bumbu”, but as far as I’m concerned, the old fashioned method, pounded with a pestle in a mortar, is still the best. However, most Thai housewives buy their pastes for cooking geang in the “Talad Soht” (fresh market), already machine ground or the same packed in plastic envelopes from the super markets.
I advise any expatriate interested in cooking to buy a stone mortar while here, as they are a great help in the kitchen - not only in the local kitchen but also abroad in other Southeast Asian countries or even in the West (to make “aoli”, the southern French garlic mayonnaise for instance, or to ground pepper). There are many uses for this handy utensil. Very good mortars and pestles are sold in the markets and stores specialising in kitchenware, household articles and crockery. A good size mortar and pestle will cost you a couple of hundred Baht but if you don’t drop them, especially the pestle, they will last forever. I haven’t been in Angsila, on the coast just south of Cholburi, for many years but as far as I know, there still is a large community in this picturesque seaside town where almost all households are involved in the production of these stone implements. These mortars are also sold along the road to Pattaya in a town called Nong Mong, off Bang Saen but remember, contrary to popular belief, items sold along the highways are usually more expensive than in the markets of the nearby towns. People do not take up positions along those noisy and dusty traffic arteries to please you.
Done properly it does not take much time or effort to pound a “Bumbu” or “Krueng Geang”. Many people make the mistake of letting the pestle come down right in the centre of the mortar while it is much more effective to hit off-centre and let the pestle come down along the curved inside, thus having a more profitable use of potential energy. In the process the spice mixture is automatically moved so that there is a circulation (see illustration). Another advantage is - especially when it concerns small amounts of spices - that one does not have the hassle afterwards to clean the blender which is more labour intensive than cleaning the mortar and pestle.
The experienced curry paste maker will always add the hard spices, like pepper, coriander seeds, cummin, fenugreek or sliced lemon grass first, then the ginger type rhizomes (turmeric, green ginger, Chinese keys, galangar and so on) as well as nuts and chillies. Next, it is time for the shrimp paste, the garlic and the thinly sliced red onions which will make it soggy sometimes. It is advisable for the novice to wear some goggles or a pair of glasses to prevent the hot mixtures from splashing into the eyes which can be extremely unpleasant (wash it out with salt water). Another solution is not to look at what you’re doing, but that is for the more jaded operators.