Indonesia is an island nation made of around 6000 islands, resulting in countless regional recipes and culinary traditions. Sambal, however, is enjoyed all over Indonesia. The spicy condiment is made of chili peppers and has over 200 variants – and there are just as many ways to use it. Here are some of our favorite ways to use this Indonesian chili paste.

• Spice up your breakfast. You don’t have to be cooking Indonesian recipes to use sambal. Use it as a hot sauce over fried eggs or stir it into shakshuka to spice up the most important meal of the day.
• Indonesian marinade. Give your next barbeque an Indonesian twist. Sambal is the perfect ingredient to add to a marinade – if you can handle the heat! The chili paste will thicken the marinade, allowing it to better stick to the meat, and is perfectly paired with chicken skewers, ribs or chicken wings.
• Sambal stir-fry. For a more traditional way to use sambal, add it to an Indonesian stir-fry. Stir in the chili paste while frying the aromatics like onion and garlic to bring out the flavors of the sambal.