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    Home » 5 or less ingredients

    Published: Sep 15, 2023 by Zen · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Easy 3-ingredient Sambal Aioli (Sambal Mayo)

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    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This easy 3-ingredient Sambal Aioli, a spicy sambal mayo sauce, is great with almost everything. It can be a dipping sauce for french fries, wedges, fried shrimp, fish tacos, chicken nuggets or slathered on grilled corn!

    Sweet potato fries with sambal mayonnaise on a serving board.
    You can also use this spicy Asian dipping sauce to make an egg salad, or in a sandwich.
    Jump to:
    • Why Make This
    • Ingredients
    • Variations
    • Step-by-Step Instructions
    • How to Scale
    • How to Serve
    • How to Store
    • Suggested Accompanying Recipes
    • Easy 3-ingredient Sambal Aioli (Sambal Mayo)
    • 💬 Comments

    Why Make This

    1. Delicious: The creaminess of the mayonnaise, the tang of the vinegar or lime juice and the heat of the sambal are a match made in heaven.
    2. Quick: It only takes a few seconds to put together. Not much time for a lot of flavor!
    3. Easy: You only need 3-ingredients to make this easy and delicious sambal mayo sauce, which can go with a lot of different foods!

    Ingredients

    Sambal, mayonnaise and vinegar next to each other.
    This sambal oelek was homemade. If you use shop bought, it may be a darker color.

    The main ingredients for sambal mayo are:

    • Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise or Garlic Mayonnaise: If you don't have Japanese mayonnaise, regular mayo (or homemade) + a tinge of chicken stock powder is great too- but Kewpie really does taste better than normal mayonnaise so do try it if you've never had it before. (I also like to use it in my easy garlic cream cheese dip.) I show you how to make your own homemade mayonnaise with garlic below, but note that if you use homemade mayo for this sambal mayo sauce, the shelf life will be shorter. (I recommend using it up within 1-2 days instead of the usual 5.)
    • Sambal chilli: You can use storebought or homemade sambal chili (You will need red chilies, an acid and salt.) There are SO many types of sambal chilies- I've tested this with both homemade sambal oelek as well as sambal belacan tumis. Alternatively, substitute with sriracha sauce to make sriracha mayo or 1 of these sambal oelek alternatives. (If you need more recipes to use up your jar of sambal, try these yummy sambal oelek recipes, such as this Vietnamese baked chicken wings in fish sauce or chicken sambal curry.)
    • Rice vinegar: Or substitute with white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice. (I chose to use vinegar as it is a pantry staple so you don't have to worry about grocery shopping)
    • Optional, garlic: Most people think of garlic when they hear the word aioli. For a true sambal aioli, stir in 3 minced up garlic cloves. (Do not keep the sauce for more than 2-3 days if using raw garlic.)
    • Optional, Salt to taste (usually not necessary if the sambal is from the store, as it's salted.) and spring onions or coriander leaves as garnish. You can also add some sugar for sweetness if you like.

    For Homemade Mayonnaise

    To make mayo in a food processor, you will need a few simple ingredients:

    • 2 egg yolks: make sure they're room temeprature and pasteurised as we're eating them raw
    • 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
    • 1.5 Cups neutral oil: I usually use olive oil but you can also use vegetable oil
    • 2-3 Tablespoons white rice vinegar
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 3 teaspoons white sugar
    • optional (if you want it to taste more savory, like Kewpie): ½ teaspoon chicken stock powder or dashi powder
    • optional: 3 teaspoons of garlic powder (then you can skip mincing the garlic cloves later!)

    Note: smaller quantities will have to be hand-whisked together, like we did at Le Cordon Bleu in London.

    Variations

    You can easily turn it into other creamy sauces:

    • For Sriracha Aioli: Use Sriracha instead of Sambal!
    • For Gochujang Aioli: Use Gochujang Paste instead of Sambal.

    Step-by-Step Instructions

    Mixing sambal, mayo and salt in a bowl.
    1. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together.
    2. Taste and season if necessary!
    3. Enjoy!

    For Homemade Mayonnaise

    1. Add the eggs and mustard to the food processor, whizzing for about 20 seconds.
    2. Add ⅓ Cup of the neutral oil SLOWLY. (The machine should still be whizzing away.)
    3. Add the salt, sugar and stock powder (if using), giving everything another blitz.
    4. Add ½ Cup more neutral oil SLOWLY. (The machine should still be whizzing away.)
    5. Add the rest of the oil and the vinegar, procesing just till everything comes together (about 5-10 seconds.) Don't whirl for too long or the emulsion will break.
    6. Taste and season again if necessary.

    How to Scale

    I like to simplify my recipes down to ratios. For example, these 12345 pork ribs are my favourite Chinese spare ribs recipe and SO easy to make.

    This makes them easy to remember as well as simple to scale up or down depending on how many people one is cooking for!

    For this easy sambal mayo sauce, the ratio is 1:2:4. 1 part vinegar/ fresh lime juice: 2 parts sambal: 4 parts Kewpie mayonnaise. In other words, if you use 1T of vinegar, you would mix it with 2T of sambal and 4T of mayonnaise.

    How to Serve

    This easy sambal aioli dipping sauce is a great recipe for Super Bowl Sunday!

    Sambal mayo makes an awesome dip for fries or vegetable crudites. (If you're looking for Game Day recipes, here are some others that you may enjoy.)

    You can also pair this hot sauce with:

    • hard boiled eggs
    • canned tuna
    • grilled corn
    • onion rings
    • etc

    How to Store

    This spicy sambal aioli sauce keeps in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days (2-3 days only if the mayo is homemade), making sambal mayo a perfect prep ahead recipe.

    Always keep it in the chiller when not eating it!

    Suggested Accompanying Recipes

    • Close-up of a half-bitten mochi cheese bread ball.
      Cheese Mochi Bread Recipe
    • A box of SPAM fries with sauce in the background.
      Spam fries (2-ingredients)
    • 5 severed sausages with ketchup which look like bloody fingers.
      Bloody Halloween Hot Dog Fingers
    • Dipping a Chinese meatball into a bowl of spicy mayo,
      Asian Pork Meatballs (30 minutes)
    Stirring sambal aioli, made with homemade sambal oelek.

    Enjoyed this easy red chiles Recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below! If you REALLY liked this spicy creamy dip recipe, please consider supporting it by buying me a coffee! 🙂 (No obligation though!) Thank you and have a great day!

    Close-up of sweet potato fries topped with spicy sambal mayo.

    Easy 3-ingredient Sambal Aioli (Sambal Mayo)

    Zen
    This spicy, tangy sauce goes well with french fries, grilled corn, hard boiled eggs, chicken salad and a whole host of other things.
    5 from 34 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 3 minutes mins
    Cook Time 2 minutes mins
    Course Appetizer, Salad, Side Dish, Snack
    Cuisine peranakan, singaporean, Southeast Asian
    Servings 1 person
    Calories 222 kcal

    Equipment

    • Bowl and spoon

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 Tablespoon Mayonnaise I like Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise as it's the most savory. Substitute: regular or homemade mayonnaise. See post above for how to make your own mayonnaise.
    • 1 Tablespoon Sambal belacan or Sambal Oelek I use either sambal belacan tumis or raw sambal Oelek. An alternative is sambal oelek or sriracha.
    • ½ Tablespoon White Rice Vinegar Substitute: white wine vinegar, lime juice or lemon juice
    • 3 cloves garlic peel and mince. Can omit if using garlic mayo as a base. (See post above for how to make homemade garlic mayo.)
    • Salt, to taste (Optional) Taste before adding as store bought sambal is usually salted
    • Spring Onion (Slice finely) Optional garnish

    Instructions
     

    • Mix the garlic, vinegar, sambal and mayo together. Taste to see if it needs a pinch of salt then top with spring onions, if using.
    • See Notes for serving suggestions
    • Store for up to 5 days in the fridge in an air-tight container. If using homemade mayonnaise, I recommend using the sambal mayonnaise sauce within 2-3 days.

    Notes

    This spicy, tangy sauce goes well with (cut-up) hard boiled eggs, canned tuna, grilled corn, chicken salad and many other things.
    If you want to eat it with sweet potato fries:
    Cut the sweet potatoes into thick 1cm strips. Toss them in the olive oil and salt, making sure the salt is spread evenly. Place them on a baking tin lined with parchment paper, ensuring that there are gaps between the sweet potato chunks so that the sweet potatoes roast and not steam. Roast 30 minutes, turn after 15 minutes (and rotate your pan as your oven may have hot spots) at , 425F/218C. (You may need more than 1 baking tray to fit the sweet potatoes (and ensure that there is enough space between them.)
    Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

    Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its veracity.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 222kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 1gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 13gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 183mgPotassium: 101mgFiber: 0.3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 51IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 22mgIron: 0.3mg
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @GreedyGirlGourmet or tag #greedygirlgourmet!

    Let me know what you think of this easy, spicy, 3-ingredients sambal mayo sauce!

    What is your favourite food to eat it with? Personally, I love mixing it with canned tuna and hard boiled eggs to make a cold salad.

    I have other recipes you may like here! :)

    • Chinese steamed egg with soy sauce and green onions.
      Chinese Steamed Eggs (20 min)
    • Dipping a pan-fried dumpling into spicy Japanese sauce.
      Japanese Gyoza Dipping Sauce Recipe
    • A glass of Taiwanese papaya milk
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    • Fresh cut watermelon salad with chili flakes in a white bowl.
      Sweet & Spicy Watermelon Salad

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Tina says

      November 30, 2021 at 6:47 am

      5 stars
      The combination of spice from the samba and the savouriness of the mayo is delish! Thanks for the kewpie tip- so much better than regular mayo.

      Reply
    5 from 34 votes (33 ratings without comment)

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    Greedygirlgourmet eating 2 sandwiches in Scotland

    Hi I'm Zhen also known as GGG! I couldn't boil water till I was 18! However, I love creating community and nurturing people, so when I lived abroad (in St. Andrews then London) for 11 years, I started hosting regular parties for friends, and that's how I started cooking and helping out in professional kitchens. (Couldn't cook before that!) I even organised a supper club for charity (which strangers came to!) Learning to cook late, I make sure my recipes go into enough detail for those new to Asian cuisine or who love a test kitchen approach to cooking!

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