Originally posted on yahoo! by Emily Duncan

Let me be clear. I’ve had a lot of smoked salmon dip in my life. And yes, I can confirm, there are plenty of other perfectly tasty smoked salmon chip dip recipes in the world. But this is the best salmon chip dip I’ve ever had and – prepare to clutch your pearls – possibly the single best chip dip I’ve ever eaten.

Now, I’m not usually one to toot my own horn. But folks, toot toot. This is delicious.

This smoked salmon dip is spicy, creamy, tangy, salty, and totally addictive. And it comes together in, drum roll please, less than 5 minutes. I started making it around the holidays this past year as something quick to throw together for a crowd, but then… I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Even as I write this, I’m calculating how long I have to wait before I can make the dip again.

Here’s What Makes This Dip Unique

While most smoked salmon dips lean on the classic combo of lox and cream cheese, this one eschews the heavier cream cheese for a mix of sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, and olive oil. But more – perhaps most – importantly, it uses a secret ingredient: Sambal.

Sambal is a chili condiment made in Indonesia and Malaysia that uses chilis, garlic, shallots or onions, and often shrimp paste (although shellfish-free vegan versions are certainly available!). Specifically, I use Mama Lam’s Malaysian-style sambal (labeled as hot sauce), and highly recommend you do the same or find a similar product. It should be a fairly spicy, salty, thick, oil-based paste. If you can’t find anything like it, you can absolutely order Mama Lam’s online or find it in stores near you (they didn’t pay me to say this, I’m just an enthusiast).

You can also make your own sambal, if you’re feeling ambitious. It goes with everything! I, for one, use it in my tinned fish pasta recipe too. Second choice would be a chili crisp like Lao Gan Ma or Fly by Jing – the flavor profile won’t be the same, but it’ll still be a delicious dip!

With the addition of sambal, the flavor profile shifts dramatically from your run-of-the-mill pre-made grocery store chip dip to a spicy, savory snack. And it saves a lot of chopping and mincing by adding garlic and shallot flavor on autopilot. It’s simple and delicious!

But Don’t Just Take My Word For It

Since this recipe is short enough that it barely touches the minimum word count for blog writing and there’s a chance that you, reader, have never met me before and don’t know whether to trust me, I thought I’d share a few real quotes from some of my taste testers.

“What an absolutely perfect party dip. I am not even a big smoked salmon girlie and I found myself loving the dip so much I was doing that thing where you kind of look at what everyone’s doing to make sure that you’re not eating too much dip in a row while also keeping an eye on all the chips/dip vessels to make sure supplies aren’t dwindling.” – Taylor Kay Phillips (Emmy Winner, Author of “A Guide to Midwestern Conversation“)

“The salmon dip was amazing, and I plan on using it for my next brunch party!” – Chef Frank Proto (ProtoCooks, Epicurious)

“I absolutely loved this smoked salmon dip! It was a huge hit a recent party! A little tangy, a little spicy, people kept going back for more! If you’re hosting, it’s a good idea to keep a secret batch hidden away to make sure you get some too.” – My husband Dan (Husband, Enthusiast)

Spicy Smoked Salmon Dip Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves: 6-8 hungry people with no other snacks, a 20 person party when paired with a couple other options

Ingredients:

Dip:

4 oz. smoked salmon, chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp olive oil
zest of a lemon
juice of a lemon, split
1-2 scallions, sliced, some greens reserved
2 tsp Mama Lam’s hot sauce (or a sambal or chili crisp of your choice)
salt and pepper to taste – roughly 1/2 tsp kosher salt, 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

Garnish:

additional olive oil and/or chili oil
reserved sliced scallion greens
fried shallots (optional but delicious)

Serve with:

plain (sea salt) potato chips

Notes: Word to the wise – Mama Lam’s is on the hot end for commercially available sambals, so depending on your choice of hot sauce/chili crisp, you may need to scale the amount you add to the dip up or down to your heat preference. Feel free (nay, encouraged!) to add a teaspoon (or half teaspoon, for the heat-averse) at a time and taste as you go.

Method:

1. Make your dip base. Add smoked salmon, mayo, sour cream, olive oil, lemon zest, the juice of half a lemon, all but the reserved sliced scallions, first tsp of sambal, a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper to a bowl and stir.

2. Adjust until it tastes perfect. Adjust heat and tang by adding more sambal and lemon juice as desired. If it’s not singing, try adding a little more salt and pepper.

3. Garnish. When it tastes just right, add remaining scallions and some olive oil and/or chili oil (if using Mama Lam’s or Chili Crisp) to decorate the top of the dip once plated.

4. Eat that dip! Serve in a dip bowl with plain sea salt chips for dipping.

Now you have the power to make my favorite smoked salmon dip recipe of all time.

Use it wisely – and I hope you enjoy!