These days, it seems like everyone has at least one bottle of hot sauce in the fridge. Tabasco, Frank’s, Tapatio, Crystal, Sriracha and many more have become pantry staples.
Let’s get more adventurous and explore how heat is used in kitchens around the globe.
We’ll discover the Jamaican chocolate habanero; the South African Bird’s Eye chile; baharat, a Middle Eastern spice blend; sambal, the fiery condiment from Southeast Asia; and gochujang, the piquant red pepper paste from Korea.
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With the help of friends and chefs from different parts of the world, I developed recipes that represent their cuisine and culture, but can be easily prepared at home. Let’s start in the Caribbean.
To enlarge the map, click here.
1. Jamaica
“Every day, Jamaicans turn up the heat at the table with a pepper sauce concoction,” said Nigel Spence, owner and executive chef of Ripe Kitchen and Bar in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. “It’s common practice to add this pepper sauce to a prepared meal, even when spice was added during cooking.”
The vinegar-based condiment traditionally calls for Scotch Bonnet peppers, but the Jamaican chocolate habanero has been gaining popularity. “The heat level is quite striking and is not for the faint-hearted or uninitiated,” said Spence, who shared his recipe for Jamaican pepper sauce. I paired it with my own jerk chicken recipe for a spicy marriage made in heaven.
Recipe: Jerk Chicken With Nigel’s Jamaican Pepper Sauce.
2. South Africa
South African chef Peter Tempelhoff of The Greenhouse in Cape Town offers his take on heat. “What would the food world be without the chile? A boring, bland and lifeless place.”
Indeed.
“After a long night of checking the flavors in my kitchen, I head straight for the chiles when I get home; they’re the only thing that awakens and excites my fatigued taste buds. I sure love eating the little critters, especially raw, like a carrot,” said Tempelhoff, who provided a recipe for dhaltjies, or chile bites.
Thanks to the addition of African Bird’s Eye chile flakes, they’re like fritters with a fiery kick.
Recipe: Dhaltjies (Chile Bites).
To enlarge the Scoville scale, clickhere.
3. Middle East
Baharat means spices in Arabic, and this Middle Eastern spice blend boasts a complex and unique balance of flavors. Baharat is both savory and sweet, with a lingering heat, making it an ideal, all-purpose seasoning for just about any meal — from simple rice, couscous and vegetable recipes to meat, poultry and egg dishes.
I’ve incorporated baharat into Egypt’s national dish: Koshari. My Egyptian friend, Miriam Malak, grew up on this hearty blend of rice, lentils and macaroni, seasoned with baharat and smothered in a spicy tomato-chile sauce, especially during the Coptic fast. Out of the year’s 365 days, the Copts, or Christians of Egypt, fast over 210 days. The fast involves adhering to a vegan diet and Koshari fits the bill on many levels: It meets the demands of the strict fast while dishing up an invigorating, satisfying meal. Malak says my dish is almost perfect, it’s just missing something called shoreya, or broken pieces of spaghetti noodles. Feel free to add those.
Recipes: Baharat and Koshari.
4. Southeast Asia
Sambal is a spicy, chile-based sauce/relish that is popular in many countries across Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia and Malaysia. It’s often called the “ketchup of the Asian table.” Carson Tam, owner of of BP Street Cafe in Tempe, enlightened me. “Malaysian-style sambal is very important to our food, more than just adding heat,” he explained. “Heat excites the taste buds, but sambal also adds depth of flavor to a dish.”
Sambal is a blend of ground or pureed chiles and may include other ingredients, such as citrus, shallots, lemongrass, salt and sugar. Tam said it’s his blend of chile peppers, onions and spices that adds complex flavor to an otherwise “normal” dish.
There are hundreds of varieties of sambal, depending on the type of chiles used, added ingredients, texture and region in which it’s made. Serve the sambal with grilled and roasted meats, poultry, fish and vegetables. My own version is served with a fried egg and green onions. Treat it like ketchup — put it on whatever you want for a blast of heat and flavor.
Recipe: Sambal.
5. Korea
I reached out to my Korean friend, Gabriel Faubion, for this one. I asked, “Do you make your own gochujang? And can I have the recipe?” She responded, “I don’t know anyone who makes their own gochujang. Maybe some grandmas in Korea.”
So, I embraced my inner Korean grandmother and made gochujang, the thick sauce with a sweet heat that’s a staple in Korean cooking. Faubion uses gochujang “a lot,” along with gochugaru, the Korean red chile flakes used in many dishes, including kimchi.
When you create your own sauces and condiments from scratch, you can control what goes in. I like that. What I don’t like is waiting months for fermentation. That’s what gives gochujang its signature flavor: fermented chile paste. I wanted my gochujang stat, so I found a trick: miso.
Miso uses fermented soy, as does gochujang, and adding it to the rest of the ingredients gives the condiment that signature earthy and pungent flavor, without fermentation.
Use gochujang as a substitute for traditional hot sauce, as a spicy base for dips or alongside grilled and roasted meat, poultry, fish and vegetables. I serve mine with sticky rice, sauteed spinach, sauteed cremini mushrooms, sliced green onions, carrots and toasted sesame seeds.
Recipe: Gochujang.
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Jerk Chicken With Nigel’s Jamaican Pepper Sauce
Nigel’s Jamaican Pepper Sauce:
Servings: 2 cups.
2 fresh Jamaican chocolate habanero peppers or Scotch Bonnet peppers with seeds, stemmed and chopped
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
Combine all ingredients in a blender and process until blended. If desired, sauce can be left chunky by just pulsing on and off a few times. The sauce can be used immediately or refrigerated overnight to allow flavors to mature. (Store leftover pepper sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.)
Jerk Chicken:
Servings: 4 (with extra Jamaican Pepper Sauce).
1/4 cup malt vinegar or cider vinegar
2 green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 Scotch Bonnet pepper or habanero pepper with seeds, stemmed and chopped
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 pounds chicken pieces with skin (breasts, legs, thighs or 1 whole split chicken)
1 lime, cut into wedges
To make Jerk Sauce: In a blender, combine all ingredients, except chicken and limes. Process until well blended.
To make Jerk Chicken: Arrange the chicken, skin side up, in a shallow roasting pan. Spoon Jerk Sauce all over the chicken. Using the back of a spoon, evenly coat the chicken with the sauce. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours (and up to 24 hours). Pull the chicken from the refrigerator while the oven preheats (about 20-30 minutes before roasting).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roast the chicken 35-40 minutes, until cooked through (juices will run clear when the thickest part of the meat is pierced with a knife).
Serve the chicken with Nigel’s Jamaican Pepper Sauce on the side.
Note: Jerk Sauce can be made 1 day ahead and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator. You can also coat the chicken with the Jerk Sauce and marinate it up to 24 hours. Cover the chicken with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to cook. Pull the chicken from the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes before roasting.
Dhaltjies (Chile Bites)
Tip: You may substitute an equal amount of red chile flakes, or half the amount of good chili powder, for the African Bird’s Eye chile flakes. Chef Peter Tempelhoff cautions the bites are “not so tasty when cold.”
Servings: 24 chile bites.
3 cups chickpea flour (also called garbanzo bean flour)
1 cup self-raising flour (or 1 cup flour plus 11/2 teaspoons baking powder plus 1/4 teaspoon salt)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon African Bird’s Eye chile flakes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon masala, any variety, including garam masala
1 cup chopped white onions
1 cup chopped fresh spinach
1 cup water, or more as needed
Vegetable oil for frying
In a large bowl, combine the chickpea flour, self-rising flour, baking powder, cumin, salt, turmeric, African Bird’s Eye chile flakes, garlic and masala. Mix until blended. Add the onion and spinach and mix well. Add just enough water to make a soft batter.
Let the batter stand for 30 minutes.
Pour about 3-4 inches of the vegetable oil into a high-sided skillet or stock pot. Heat the oil to 350 degrees over medium-high heat. Shape the batter into golf ball-size balls and add the balls to the hot oil. Cook until golden brown on all sides, about 3 minutes, turning frequently with a fork. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chile bites to paper towels to drain. Serve warm.
— From chef Peter Tempelhoff of The Greenhouse
Koshari with baharat
Tip:Use pre-cooked rice that’s ready after 90 seconds in the microwave, and opt for canned (drained) lentils. Both options won’t be as flavorful as cooking from scratch, but you have the baharat and spicy tomato sauce to liven things up.
Servings: 4.
Rice:
Lentils:
1 cup lentils (brown, black or green)
1 clove garlic, quartered
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt
Macaroni:
2 cups small elbow macaroni
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
15-ounce can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons baharat spice blend, plus additional for garnish
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Crispy Onion Garnish:
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
15-ounce can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
To make the rice: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the vegetable stock, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed.
To make the lentils: Rinse the lentils under cold water and add them to another medium saucepan with 2 cups of water. Add the quartered garlic clove, cumin and bay leaf and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. Strain away any excess liquid if necessary, remove the bay leaf and add the salt.
To make the macaroni: Follow package instructions.
To make the spicy tomato sauce: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, baharat, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
To make the crispy onions: Heat about 1-inch of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until dark brown, almost black. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to paper towels to drain.
Arrange the rice, lentils and macaroni on individual plates. Sprinkle a little baharat over each portion and then top with the spicy tomato sauce, garbanzo beans, crispy onions, and a little more Baharat. Serve warm.
Note: Instead of the traditional crispy onions, you could make caramelized onions. Cook the onions in 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, until deep brown in color.
Baharat sauce
Tip:The trick to the best baharat is dry-roasting and grinding the seeds and spices yourself. This ensures you’ll extract the true essence of each ingredient and nestle it into the spice blend.
Servings:About 1/4 cup.
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds
11/2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
In a small, dry skillet, combine the peppercorns, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves and cardamom seeds. Set the pan over medium-high heat and dry-roast the whole spices/seeds until fragrant, about 3-5 minutes, shaking the pan frequently to prevent scorching. Remove pan from the heat and allow the spices and seeds to cool. Transfer the spices and seeds to a spice or coffee grinder and add the paprika, cinnamon and nutmeg. Grind into a powder. (Store baharat in an airtight glass jar, in a cool, dark place, for up to 6 months.)
Sambal
Tip:If you don’t have a food processor, mash the ingredients together with a mortar and pestle before transferring to the saucepan.
Servings: 1 cup.
1/2 pound fresh red chiles with seeds (I used red Fresno), stemmed and chopped
1/4 cup minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon chopped lemongrass (tender part only)
1 tablespoon grape seed or canola oil
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest
Salt
In a food processor, combine the chiles, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and oil. Process until finely chopped. With the motor running, gradually add the vinegar. Scrape down the sides of the processor and process until everything is blended.
Transfer the mixture to a small saucepan and set the pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, partially cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Add the lime zest. Remove the pan from heat and season to taste with salt. Serve hot or cold, as a garnish with just about any dish. (Store the sambal in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.)
Gochujang
Tip:I cooked my gochujang until it was very thick, so if you want a thinner version, stop cooking earlier, anytime during the cooking process. The sauce goes from thin to syrupy to a paste.
Servings: 1 cup.
1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup miso, any variety (experiment with different types as each yields a different flavor)
1/2 cup Korean chili powder or equal parts cayenne pepper and paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sake
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
Combine the water and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the miso and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.
Add the Korean chili powder and continue to stir until the sauce thickens and tiny bubbles appear on the surface. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until sauce thickens, about 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the pan from the heat and cool slightly. Add the salt, sake and rice vinegar and stir to combine (don’t skip this step; it’s critical to stopping fermentation).
Serve warm or chilled alongside meat, poultry and vegetables. (Store the gochujang in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.)
— All recipes from Robin Miller, except where otherwise noted.
