KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 — Ibnu Aswan loves spicy food so much that he decided to make his own sambal. He wanted his sambal spicier and named it... Sambal Letop.
The 29-year-old assistant art director discovered the recipe when his brother’s babysitter made the green-coloured sambal one day. A lot of people thought that it was Indonesian because of its colour but it was just an invention of the Sabahan babysitter.
The sambal became a dining table staple and Ibnu couldn’t finish a meal without adding Sambal Letop to it. The family usually finishes half a jar in a day.
“I’m a huge fan of sambal and I can eat it by itself! For me, my rice to Sambal Letop ratio is 1:3!” said Ibnu.
Because he has a day job, Ibnu only makes 20-odd jars a day and he would announce his location on social media. Then his customers will come pick it up from him.
Delivering was not an option because the jars may break. Also, Ibnu does not have time to meet customers for COD (cash on delivery) because that would take time and add cost to the product.
“During the first few months, I made the sambal myself. I would make it in bulk and it takes time... cutting the chillies, chopping up the onions and cooking. Because of the quantity, it takes three hours to make. So now I just do the design and packaging as well as marketing and selling while my brother’s babysitter does the cooking,” said Ibnu.
So why did he choose green chillies instead of the familiar red ones?
“Green is actually spicier, while red is expected. My target audience is actually lovers of chillies and green is associated with being extra hot,” he said. But according to Ibnu, there might be a possible new flavour in the future.
Ibnu started his Sambal Letop business after the last fasting month. It was at a gathering with friends that his friends challenged and dared him to start a business with Sambal Letop.
“I was feeling gutsy last year and it started as a dare and joke. That’s why I designed the label to look like it’s from a comic instead of local food packaging. I got the name from the way the oil pops during the cooking process. Also, ‘letop’ is slang for awesome in Malay,” said Ibnu.
Sambal Letop was sold through Instagram and soon, the Instagram account was filled with photos of different ways to enjoy Sambal Letop other than the usual rice combination. Some people use it as a base for curry, spread over toast, as a dip for carrots, as a dressing and many other quirky ways.
Right now, Ibnu feels contented with the way things are going. Sambal Letop is doing very well for a one-man show and he has no plans yet to expand the business due to his day job. His sambal is also sold at Pop at Jaya One.
A jar of Sambal Letop can last for two weeks unrefrigerated and up to a month if kept in the fridge. Sized roughly like a jar of peanut butter, it goes for RM13 per jar.
“I don’t want to be aggressively pushing the product. At the end of this year, I will think of my next move for Sambal Letop,” he said.
Ibnu shared that being in the same business with other people encourages him because they face the same struggles as a small business. But the community has been very supportive and they help each other out.
Fans of Sambal Letop also helped Ibnu in ways he couldn’t have previously imagined. He is based in Petaling Jaya but there are “voluntary agents” helping him sell his sambal in Putrajaya and Ampang without asking for any form of remuneration.
Find out more about the explosive Sambal Letop at www.instagram.com/samballetop.
