tomato sambal grilled cheese sandwiches
homemade, spicy-as-you-want-it tomato sambal and fresh, milky mozzarella in a sweet, toasty brioche bun
some friends and i made a meal from the cookbook coconut and sambal by lara lee, and i fell in love with the two sambals we made: sambal matah (balinese raw shallot sambal) and sambal tomat (tomato sambal). the flavor of the tomato sambal is fresh, punchy and as spicy as you want it to be, and shortly after making it for the first time with friends, i made it again at home to just have on hand for eggs or to eat with rice.
a few days later, lunch came around and i had the tomato sambal, some fresh mozzarella cheese, and a few brioche buns from testing another recipe around, so naturally a grilled cheese was in order. it didn’t look like much, but the simple combination of the spicy sambal, mild cheese, and sweet, soft buns was so good and the flavors sparked a memory of this pressed chorizo and cheese sandwich on a croissant brioche from one of my favorite little cafes in berlin, pastelaria a galão.
usually i always opt for a sturdy, crusty bread for grilled cheese, but since i knew i wanted a sweeter, softer brioche bun here to compliment the flavors of the sambal, i decided to stick with it and find a way to make it work. i tried the recipe with other kinds of cheese, as fresh mozzarella is quite wet and releases water as it’s pressed which soaks ever so slightly into the toasted bun. however, i liked the milky, creamy, mild flavor of the mozz the best, and actually found the softness it gives the inside of the sandwich a nice contrast to the crisp outside.
after testing, it was clear that the way to get the best of both worlds (basically a soft but not soggy inside of the sandwich) is to simply draw out some of that moisture from the mozzarella before using it. watch me make it here, otherwise it’s all detailed in the steps below. enjoy!
tomato sambal, can be made up to 10 days in advance, this recipe is an adaptation of sambal tomat from coconut and sambal by lara lee
5 - 10 chilis (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 clove garlic
1 thumb-sized knob of ginger (about 10 grams)
2 small shallots (about 80 grams unpeeled)
150 grams cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
to assemble
2 soft brioche buns (substitute: portuguese croissant brioche)
2 tablespoons mayo
100 grams fresh mozzarella cheese (substitute: shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced provolone cheese)
drain and slice mozzarella and add to a fine sieve over a small bowl. season with salt and set aside; this will help us remove some excess moisture from the cheese.
remove the chili stems and peel ginger, garlic and shallots. add to a food processor with the tomatoes and pulse into a rough paste; you still want some texture here, so don’t go full into a puree.
place a small frying pan over medium-low heat and add vegetable oil. add the paste and fry, stirring very often, for about 12 - 15 minutes, or until the sambal thickens, darkens slightly, starts to stick to the pan (unless you’re using a nonstick pan) and the oil separates out of the mixture and is visibly bubbling around the edges of the paste (watch the video for a visual on this). season with sugar and salt to taste and transfer to an airtight container. once cool completely, add a thin layer of vegetable oil and cover; it will keep for up to 10 days in the fridge.
to make the grilled cheese, spread the insides of each of the brioche buns with half the mayo. dab any liquid off the salted mozzarella slices. set a cast-iron frying pan over medium heat. once hot, add the buns, mayo side-down; if they don’t fit into your pan, work in batches. let cook until golden brown on the inside, then turn the heat down to low and flip the buns over in the pan.
add a generous spoonful of the sambal onto each bottom bun, then top with the mozzarella cheese. top each sandwich with the top bun, then place a plate onto the sandwiches and weigh down with a can or something heavy; if you have a sandwich press, use it! let cook for about 3 minutes. flip and repeat, until both sides are toasted and the cheese is melted and starting to ooze out of the sides of the bun. remove from the pan, cut in half, and enjoy immediately with more sambal.