As someone with a fairly busy schedule, I’m always on the hunt for easy weeknight dinner ideas. If the recipe only requires a handful of ingredients, even better. Earlier this year I was introduced to Auria’s Malaysia Kitchen, an emerging brand that specializes in traditional Malaysian spice blends and jarred sambals.
After I tried the popular spicy condiment for myself, it quickly became a regular in my dinner rotation.
What You Should Know About Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen Lime Leaf Sambal
Founded by Auria Abraham in 2013, Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen was born out of passion and necessity. After a successful stint in music (working with many popular artists including The Spice Girls, Britney Spears, and the Black Eyed Peas), Abraham was looking for a career change. The 2008 recession hit, and so she turned to the classic recipes she grew up cooking in Seremban, Malaysia.
Early on, she sold her dishes at pop-ups and food festivals, but longed to bring the flavors of Malaysia to more people in the States. Today, Auria makes her small-batch sambals and spice blends in Brooklyn, New York. You can find them on the company’s website, Amazon, and 100 independent grocers nationwide, including Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Market Hall Foods in Oakland, California.
It’s been a decade since she launched her award-winning Lime Leaf Sambal, which is made with fresh chillies, dried green peppers, canola oil, garlic, cane sugar, lime juice, kosher salt, and makrut lime leaves. You can add the spicy condiment to marinades, soups, stews, or casseroles, or use it as dipping sauce.
My Honest Review of Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen Lime Leaf Sambal
I first tried a tiny spoonful to see what we were working with (my spice tolerance isn’t the highest). I opened the jar and was met with notes of fresh chilies, garlic, and the floral, fragrant makrut lime. The sambal is muted green in color and has a slightly chunky texture, akin to a chutney. I could see bits of garlic and pepper throughout.
It starts off on a sweet and sour note, followed by the bright floral lime, and finishes with a bold, peppery, chili flavor that wasn’t too overpowering — especially for me. It’s got a beautiful depth of flavor. I decided to quickly prep dinner for the following night and poured the rest of the jar over some extra-firm tofu I had pressed and chopped into cubes. I let it marinate overnight in my fridge.
The next evening, I took the marinated tofu, popped it into the air fryer, and cooked it at 400°F for 12 minutes until it was nice and crispy. The flavors permeated the tofu beautifully. Plus, it was plenty filling when paired with some rice.
Our studio team used the sauce to marinate some chicken breasts and agreed that it was absolutely delicious. Vicky, our studio director, eagerly went back in for seconds while Ola, our culinary assistant, loved how peppery and aromatic it was. I’ll definitely be ordering another jar.
Buy: Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen Lime Leaf Sambal, $12.99 for 8 ounces
Have you tried Auria’s Malaysian Kitchen? Let us know in the comments below.
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