Indonesian food series: Base Bumbu (Indonesian base paste recipe)

While there are many versions of the Indonesian base paste recipe (base bumbu), that is, the base paste that is used to flavour many Indonesian dishes, they can be grouped in three main pastes: white paste (bumbu putih), yellow paste (bumbu kuning) and red paste (bumbu merah). In this post, I will show you the recipes from these pastes that we learned from Chef Hero on our cooking class in Warung Sunny in the beautiful tropical paradise island of Gili Air. As a bonus, I will give you tips to turn them into new versions, such as orange paste, black paste or onion paste.

Warung Sunny Cooking Class review: our experience in an Indonesian cooking class in Gili Air

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Indonesian base paste recipe ingredients

1. Indonesian bumbu putih recipe (base white paste)

• 250g Shallot
• 125g Garlic
• 50g Candle nut
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• + galangal, ginger, lemongrass, coriander and cumin to taste

This is used for: opor ayam (white curry chicken), gudeg (jackfruit stew from Yogyakarta) or a wide variety of stir fries. We used it for pepesan, a banana leaf steamed roll.

2. Indonesian bumbu kuning recipe (base yellow paste)

• 250g Shallot
• 125g Garlic
• 100g Fresh turmeric
• 50g Candle nut
• 1 tsp Pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• + galangal, ginger, lemongrass, coriander and cumin to taste

This is used for: kare ayam (cononut chicken curry, check out this recipe!), soto ayam (chicken soup) or you can even use it to marinate recipes such as urab salad or even sate skewers.

3. Indonesian bumbu merah recipe (base red paste)

• 250g Shallot
• 125g Garlic
• 300g Red chili
• 1 tsp salt

This is used for: rendang (spicy red slow-cooked curry, typically with beef), balado (spicy tomato-based stir fry) or even to give a kick to a simple nasi goreng  (fried rice).

Ibu Susu‘s beef rendang in Ubud

Instructions

There is not much to these Indonesian base paste recipe than to choose the right ingredients and mash them together with a stone mortar and fry them. You can use a blender, but I think it is important that you use a mortar in order to get the rustic feel and more intense flavour.

1. Mash the ingredients in a stone mortar until you get a homogeneous paste.
2. Fry them gently until all water has evaporated.
3. Use directly or store in a glass jar for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
4. Freeze it to store for longer!

Bonus. Get double the pastes with these little tweaks!

• To make Bumbu dasar (orange paste), you only need to add red chili to yellow paste.
• To make Bumbu hitam (black paste), you only need to add black keluak and dried chili to orange paste. Black keluak is a poisonous nut that, when prepared properly, it gives a unique chocolat-y depth to Indonesian dishes. That is why it’s called “the truffle of the East”. However, it is quite hard to get in other countries so plan accordingly.

Closing statement

These simple sambal recipes can make you look like such a traveled chef when you have guests over, and bring any bland recipe to a flavourful new level. We learned this recipe at our cooking class in Warung Sunny in Gili Air, Indonesia. You can check out our experience in the class here:

Warung Sunny Cooking Class review: our experience in an Indonesian cooking class in Gili Air

If you’re in the Gili islands, you’ll probably find these helpful:

Quick Gili islands guide: a starters kit for paradise seekers in Indonesia

The chill Gili: Gili Air

The party Gili: Gili Trawangan

The honeymoon Gili: Gili Meno

Also, if you’re in Indonesia, have a look at these:

Perfect 3 days itinerary in Ubud, Bali

Hiking Mt. Bromo and Mt. Ijen in Java, Indonesia

Perfect 3-day itinerary in Nusa Penida, Indonesia

What to do in North Sumatra, the secret Indonesia keeps from you

Perfect 10 days Flores itinerary in Indonesia

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