Bumbu dasar merah (Indonesian red spice base)
Vegetarian
bumbu dasar merah
Red chillies, shallots, garlic, toasted candlenuts and tomato blended and slowly cooked in oil into a glossy, sweet-savoury red paste. Indonesian home cooks keep a jar in the fridge as a shortcut base for nasi goreng, sambal goreng, balado and stir-fries.
Bumbu dasar merah (Indonesian red spice base) is an Indonesian condiment, ready in about 55 minutes and made with fresh red chilli, shallot and garlic. It serves 24 and is rated easy to cook.
No licensed photograph of this dish yet.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 15 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 24
- Level
- Easy
- Calories
- 38
Method
Step 1
Dry-roast the candlenuts (opens in a new tab) in a small pan over medium-low heat for 4–5 minutes, turning, until golden on all sides. Let them cool.
- 5 min
- medium-low heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Raw candlenuts are mildly toxic and cause stomach upset; always roast them and cook the paste through.
Step 2
Blend the chillies, shallots (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), candlenuts (opens in a new tab) and tomato (opens in a new tab) with 2 tbsp of the oil to a fairly smooth paste — the tomato and shallots provide enough liquid, so no water is needed.
Food safety: Wear gloves or wash your hands well after handling chillies, and keep them away from your eyes.
Step 3
Heat the remaining oil in a wok (opens in a new tab) over medium heat. Add the paste and cook, stirring often, for 15–20 minutes. It will spit and steam at first, then thicken, darken from bright to brick red and smell sweet rather than raw; the oil will separate and shine around the edges.
- 20 min
- medium heat
- Wok (opens in a new tab)
- Wooden spoon (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: The paste spits as it reduces; use a long spoon and a splatter guard.
How it looks · Photo: Aesthos AR. Photography on Pexels Step 4
Stir in the salt and palm sugar (opens in a new tab) and cook 2 minutes more. Cool completely, about 15 minutes, then pack into a clean jar with a film of oil on top.
- 17 min
- medium-low heat
- Glass jar with lid (opens in a new tab)
About this dish
- Origin
- Java and across Indonesia, Indonesia · Commonly attributedOne of a family of 'basic' bumbu (red, white and yellow) promoted in Indonesian home cooking as make-ahead bases. Proportions are a typical household version.More food from Indonesia
- Dish
- Condiments, chutneys & relishes · Sauces
- Cooking method
- Blended, Sautéed
- Taste
- spicy (chilli heat), savoury, sweet, garlicky
- Diet
- Vegan · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Keto-style · Low-carbWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
All labels
Vegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · DASH-style - Good for
- Make-ahead · Batch cooking · Freezer-friendly
- Cook more with
- Fresh red chilli · Shallot · Garlic · Candlenut · Tomato · Jaggery / palm sugar
- Techniques
- Sautéing · Spice roasting (dry-roasting) · Wet grinding · Emulsification
Allergens
- May contain: Tree nutsfrom candlenut
Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.
Nutrition
38 kcal per serving
Estimated1 serving ≈ 15 g · recipe makes 24
Where the energy comes from
- Protein 5%
- Carbohydrate 26%
- Fat 69%
| Nutrient | Per serving | Per 100 g |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | 38 kcal | 250 kcal |
| Protein | 0.5 g | 3.5 g |
| Carbohydrate | 2.5 g | 16.9 g |
| Net carbohydrate | 2.1 g | 14.3 g |
| Sugars | 1.1 g | 7.3 g |
| Added sugars | 0.3 g | 2.2 g |
| Fibre | 0.4 g | 2.6 g |
| Fat | 3 g | 20.1 g |
| Saturated fat | 0.2 g | 1.6 g |
| Trans fat | — | — |
| Cholesterol | 0 mg | 0 mg |
| Sodium | 99 mg | 657 mg |
| Salt equivalent | 0.2 g | 1.6 g |
Vitamins & minerals per serving
- Potassium
- 52 mg
- Calcium
- 8 mg
- Iron
- 0.2 mg
- Magnesium
- 5 mg
- Vitamin A (RAE)
- 3 µg
- Vitamin C
- 8 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0 µg
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg
- Folate (DFE)
- 4 µg
How these numbers were made
- Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
- Candlenut: English walnuts (FDC 170187) used as a stand-in: candlenuts are similarly oil-rich (about 60–65 % fat); no candlenut entry exists in FDC SR Legacy.
- Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
- “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
- Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.
Good to know
Tips
- Use about 2 tbsp per two portions of nasi goreng, adding shrimp paste and kecap manis in the wok.
- A teaspoon of toasted shrimp paste can be cooked into the base if everyone eats it.
Common mistakes
- Under-cooking the base — if it still smells of raw shallot, it will not keep and will taste harsh.
Serve with
- Nasi goreng, mie goreng, sambal goreng ati (liver and potato), telur balado (eggs in chilli), and stir-fried water spinach.
Food safety
- Always use a clean, dry spoon and keep the surface covered with oil.
- Candlenuts must be cooked; never eat them raw.
Storage
- Covered with a film of oil in a clean jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks; freeze in tablespoon portions for 3 months.
Variations
- Bumbu dasar putih (white base): Shallots, garlic and candlenut without chilli, for opor, sayur lodeh and white stir-fries.
- Bumbu dasar kuning (yellow base): The white base with turmeric, ginger and coriander added, for soto and yellow curries.
Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated
About this masala
- Type
- Wet masala
- Texture
- Smooth paste
- One batch makes
- about 360 g
- Keeps
- about 2 weeks
- Store
- Covered, in the fridge
- Recipe
- Traditional
Java and across Indonesia. Makes Bumbu dasar merah (Indonesian red base), the ingredient our dish recipes list. All masalas
Used in
Amounts are each dish’s own quantity, for the servings it is written for. “Make enough” opens this recipe scaled for that dish.
- Nasi gorengMade fresh in the recipe (pounded raw with shrimp paste in step 1 — a quick, uncooked form of the red base) · 114 g for 2 servingsMake enough
Recipe DNA
How this dish is built
Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.
What the dish is built around
Main ingredient
- Fresh red chilli, raw, large red chillies, stemmed and chopped (deseed half for milder heat)100 g
- Shallot, raw, peeled125 g
- Garlic, raw, peeled50 g
- Tomato, raw, chopped80 g
Reviews & corrections
Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.
You might also like
Nasi goreng
Indonesian · 22 min · 705 kcal
Ayam bakar
Indonesian · 1 h 15 min · 716 kcal
Beef rendang
Indonesian · 4 h · 672 kcal
Sate ayam (chicken satay)
Indonesian · 1 h 50 min · 473 kcal