Balado (food) explained

Balado
Alternate Name:	Sambal goreng, sambal lado
Country:	Indonesia
Region:	West Sumatra
Course:	Main course
Served:	Hot
Main Ingredient:	Egg, chicken, meat, or seafood in hot and spicy spice mixture with a large amount of red chili pepper

Balado is a type of hot and spicy bumbu (spice mixture) found in Minang cuisine of West Sumatra, Indonesia.^[1] It has since spread through the rest of Indonesia and also Malaysia especially in Negeri Sembilan.^[2] Balado sauce is made by stir frying ground red hot chili pepper with other spices including garlic, shallot, tomato and kaffir lime (leaves, fruit, or both) in coconut or palm oil.

The ingredients are quite similar to sambal hot chili paste. However, unlike sambal, which is often treated as a separate dipping condiment, balado chili sauce is usually mixed and stir fried together with its main ingredients and treated as a dish. Balado is suitable to be served with various types of seafood, such as fried prawns, squid, fish (whole or cutlets), as well as other ingredients, such as chicken, fried boiled eggs, fried beef, eggplant, and potatoes.^[3]

Because of its almost identical ingredients and technique, the term balado is often interchangeable with sambal goreng (lit.: "fried sambal"). Nevertheless, the term balado is more specifically referring to Minang cooking tradition, while sambal goreng refers to a more general Indonesian cuisine tradition.

Variants

In the Minang dialect, the term balado literally means "with chili" or "in chili", since lado means "chili pepper" in the Minang dialect (compared with the Indonesian word "berlada"). Dish names usually combine the main ingredient followed with "balado", for example:

• Ayam balado (chicken balado)^[4]
• Bada balado (anchovies balado)
• Baluik balado or belut balado (eel balado)
• Cumi balado (squid balado)^[5]
• Dendeng balado (dendeng balado, thinly sliced dry fried beef)^[6]
• Kantang balado or kentang balado (potato balado)^[7]
• Talua balado or telur balado (egg balado)^[8]
• Taruang balado (eggplant balado)^[9]
• Teri Kacang Balado or Peanuts Anchovy Balado.
• Tuna balado (tuna balado)^[10]
• Udang balado (prawn/shrimp balado)^[11]
• Sambalado or sambal balado (balado as sambal condiment), precooked and chilled balado sauce to be used in cooking later.^[12]

In popular culture

Hot and spicy balado has become an inspiration for a popular dangdut song, "Sambalado", sung by Ayu Tingting.^[13]

See also

• Cuisine of Indonesia
• Sambal
• Rica-rica
• Dabu-dabu

External links

• Indonesian Balado sauce recipe from SBS
• Balado Sambal – Indonesian Chili Sambal (sauce) from Food Whirl
• Egg balado recipe

Notes and References

1. Web site: Balado, The Tangy Chili Sambal from West Sumatra . Pepy Nasution . 7 August 2008 . Indonesia Eats . 26 July 2017 . 8 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191108064236/https://indonesiaeats.com/balado-sambal-lado-indonesian-west-sumatra-chili-sambal/ . dead .
2. News: Cita rasa Minang tegar. Aniza Zainudin. 8 September 2018. Harian Metro. 1 July 2021. ms. Tidak sempurna sajian tradisional Negeri Sembilan tanpa gulai lemak daging salai cili padi, ayam kampung berlado, sambal tumis petai ikan bilis, terung berlado....
3. Web site: Balado sauce . SBS .
4. Web site: Balado Chicken / Ayam Balado . 13 October 2014 . Gilang Shanahan .
5. Web site: Cumi balado Pete (spicy dried squid with sator bean) . Dapur Dini . 14 May 2012 .
6. Web site: Food 52 . Mum's Dendeng Balado . Rima Sjoekri . 10 September 2013 .
7. Web site: Kentang Balado . Sajian Sedap . Indonesian . 2017-07-26 . 2019-11-08 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191108064241/https://sajiansedap.grid.id/Masakan/Goreng/Mudah-Diikuti-Resep-Kentang-Balado-Sederhana-Ini-Dijamin-Bikin-Nagih . dead .
8. Web site: Daily Cooking Quest . Telur Balado – Eggs with Chili Sauce . 4 August 2013 . Anita . 26 July 2017 . 8 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191108064237/https://dailycookingquest.com/by-category/side-dish/telur-balado-eggs-with-chili-sauce/ . dead .
9. Web site: Balado Terong Recipe .
10. Web site: Nova . Nikmatnya Ikan Tuna Balado . 8 May 2017 . 26 July 2017 . 8 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191108064231/https://nova.grid.id/Sedap/Makanan/Nikmatnya-Ikan-Tuna-Balado . dead .
11. Web site: Daily Cooking Quest . Balado Udang – Shrimps in Spicy Chili Sauce . 29 October 2015 . Anita . 26 July 2017 . 8 November 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191108064245/https://dailycookingquest.com/by-cuisine/indonesian/balado-udang-shrimps-in-spicy-chili-sauce/ . dead .
12. Web site: Resep Sambal lado . Cookpad .
13. Web site: Ayu Ting Ting - Sambalado (Official Music Video) . Youtube .