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–+ servings
cili boh in a small white bowl with dried chillies around

Cili Boh Recipe

Azlin Bloor
Cili boh is a red chilli paste, made with dried red chillies, and is an essential ingredient in Singapore, Malaysia and their neighbours.
5 from 6 votes
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Soaking TIme 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Ingredient
Cuisine Eurasian, Malay, Nyonya
Servings 20 (makes about 600 ml/2+ cups)
Calories 67 kcal

Equipment

  • blender
  • saucepan
  • utensils as needed
  • jars or ice cube trays for storage

Ingredients
 
 

  • 100 g dried red chillies
  • hot water
  • 125 ml vegetable oil or slightly more, as needed
  • 1 tsp salt optional, but helps with preservation a little

Instructions
 

  • Put the kettle on with enough water to fill a small saucepan.
    hot water
  • First thing we need to do is get rid of as many seeds as we can. Cili boh is traditionally a smooth chilli paste, with no seeds.
    You can do 1 of the following, ideally with gloved hands:
    1. Break the chillies with your fingers and shake the seeds out.
    2. Snip the chillies lengthwise and scrape out the seeds.
    This is the tedious part of the recipe. It takes me about 15 - 20 minutes to do the amount here.
    If you're not too bothered about appearance, just break the chillies shake as many seeds out as possible, and let the soaking get rid of more.
    100 g dried red chillies
  • Place the seedless chillies (or not) in a small saucepan and top with the hot water you've just boiled.
  • Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Turn off the heat, cover and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
    We want the chillies very, very soft for a smooth paste.
  • At the end of soaking time scoop out the soaked chillies either with your gloved hands or with a spatula and place in the blender. No need to rinse.
    This way, the seeds that have been released during soaking will be at the bottom of the pan.
  • Add the oil and optional salt and blend for about 5 minutes until you have a super smooth paste.
    Store as described in the article above.
    I'd store half in the fridge, and the other half in the freezer in small amounts.
    125 ml vegetable oil, 1 tsp salt

Nutrition

Serving: 2TbspCalories: 67kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 1gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.04gSodium: 123mgPotassium: 94mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 1.324IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.3mg
Keyword batu giling, chillies, cili, cili boh
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