Hot sauces are now increasingly popular as more and more people become interested in eating a more varied diet and exploring different world cuisines. Consequently, new types of hot sauces are emerging all the time and there are literally hundreds available, if you include all the regional and artisanal brands as well as the ubiquitous well-known ones.

Hot chilli-based sauces have always played a starring role in Asian, Mexican, Caribbean and Middle Eastern cooking, but now that our taste buds are developing a hankering for spice, they are featuring more prominently in traditional Western dishes, too, as well as being used as a condiment. In the United States, these sauces have such popularity that there are even hot sauce festivals that attract thousands of aficionados, who gather to taste the latest varieties and discover new brands. Once a fringe ethnic food, hot sauces are now hitting the mainstream and most of us have at least one bottle in our kitchen cupboard.

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS

Hot sauces vary in their flavour, colour, texture and intensity of heat, depending on which chilli peppers are used to make them and how they are combined with other ingredients. However, they all contain three essential elements: chillies, vinegar and salt. Sugar, spices, herbs, garlic, tomatoes, vegetables and thickening agents may be added to this holy trinity. Flavourings and colourings are sometimes exotic, as in the case of rose harissa, which incorporates crushed rose petals and rose water.

AROUND THE WORLD

This book celebrates the diversity of hot sauces, capturing the flavours and cultures of their countries of origin. The recipes feature fiery crimson harissa paste from the Levant and North Africa, Thai sweet chilli and Sriracha sauces, West Indian hot pepper sauces, Jamaican jerk sauce, Portuguese and southern African piri piri sauce, South American aji, Mexican Cholula, jalapeño and smoky chipotle chilli sauces, Indonesian sambal oelek, Chinese Szechuan spicy plum sauce and Japanese wasabi, as well as red and green Tabasco from America.

Sriracha is a good example of a hot sauce that has taken off from its humble beginnings in a Thai seaside village to become a global phenomenon. The spread of street food stalls and markets and food and music festivals, as well as the new breed of food bloggers, have helped hot sauces go viral and develop a cult following. Like many other hot sauces that are now mainstream, the appeal of Sriracha lies in its versatility. It has reached out from being solely a condiment in Thai and Vietnamese restaurants to flavouring cookies, cakes and desserts as well as savoury dishes.

RECIPES

In this book we have recipes for hot sauces that you can make from scratch at home, ranging from tomato chilli jam for enhancing cheese and cold meats to unusual variations on harissa, including rose harissa and a green version flavoured with herbs. You can learn how easy it is to cook your own sweet chilli sauce or even Sriracha, and you’ll also find hot and spicy salad dressings, salsas, dipping sauces and marinades.

The delicious recipes feature snacks, desserts and drinks as well as breakfasts and brunches, salads and supper dishes. There are old favourites as well as some exciting and innovative dishes from around the world, including Jamaican jerk chicken and ‘stamp and go’ fritters, Mexican burritos, harissa chicken shawarma wraps and a Peruvian quinoa brunch with aji.

THE APPEAL OF HOT SAUCE

Hot sauces are more than ‘just a food’, they reveal how cultures can fuse and connect. Even though countries in different parts of the world have their own interpretations, we can all relate to the basic ingredients of chillies, salt and vinegar. There’s something very personal, pleasurable and almost spiritual about these three elements – they can transform our mood as well as our palate. So whether you want to just add heat to a soup or spice up a cake or loaf of bread, our hot sauce recipes will show you how.

RECIPE LIST

Hot dipping sauces

Mexican hot sauce

Sweet Thai chilli sauce

Home-made fermented Sriracha

Quick sauces

Harissa

Green harissa

Szechuan hot plum sauce

Tomato chilli jam

West Indian hot pepper sauce

HOT DIPPING SAUCES

Use these sweet and spicy hot sauces for dipping spring rolls, wontons, dim-sum and appetizers, or drizzle them over crabcakes or rice and noodles. They will stimulate your taste buds and enhance your meal.

THAI DIPPING SAUCE

MAKES: APPROX. 60ML/2FL OZ (¼ CUP) | PREP: 5 MINUTES

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2 tbsp water

1 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar

2 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

juice of 1 lime

2 fresh red bird’s eye chillies, thinly sliced

2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced

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1 Put the water and sugar in a bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves.

2 Stir in the remaining ingredients and then transfer to a serving bowl.

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OR YOU CAN TRY THIS…

– Add a little chopped coriander (cilantro).

– Add some diced cucumber or shredded carrot.

– Add ½ stalk lemongrass, outer peel removed and finely diced.

VIETNAMESE NUOC CHAM

MAKES: APPROX. 150ML/5FL OZ (⅔ CUP) | PREP: 10 MINUTES | COOK: 5 MINUTES

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4 tbsp water

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

3 tbsp white sugar, preferably caster (superfine)

1 small carrot, peeled and cut into thin shreds

grated zest and juice of 1 small lime

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp light soy sauce

handful of coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

2 fresh red chillies, finely diced

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1 Put the water, rice vinegar, nam pla and sugar in a small saucepan. Set over a medium heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.

2 Bring to the boil, then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the carrot. Set aside to cool.

3 When the sauce is cool, stir in the lime zest and juice, garlic, soy sauce, coriander and chillies. Transfer to a small bowl before serving.

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OR YOU CAN TRY THIS…

– Add some grated fresh root ginger.

– Stir in some finely sliced spring onion (scallion).

MEXICAN HOT SAUCE

MAKES: APPROX. 240ML/8FL OZ (1 CUP) | PREP: 15 MINUTES | STAND: 2—6 DAYS

To make an authentic-tasting Mexican sauce you need to use the right chillies. You can now buy fresh or dried jalapeño, ancho, Serrano, guajillo, habanero and poblano chillies, plus many other varieties, online or by mail order as well as from some supermarkets and specialist stores. You can adjust the number of chillies used in these recipes according to how much heat you like. Serve these sauces with tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tamales or fajitas, or simply drizzle over some chilli-fried eggs and sliced avocado.

225g/8oz fresh green or red jalapeño chillies, halved

1 tsp sea salt crystals

150ml/5fl oz (⅔ cup) white vinegar

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

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1 Put the chillies and salt in a food processor or chopper and blitz briefly to a paste.

2 Transfer to a large clean screwtop jar or a Mason glass jar. Seal with the lid and set aside overnight or for 12 hours at room temperature. The chillies will start to ferment.

3 Add the vinegar and give everything a good stir. Seal with the lid and leave at room temperature for at least 24 hours. For a really intense taste, you can leave it for longer – up to 5 days.

4 Transfer to a blender or food processor and add the garlic and sugar. Blitz until smooth and then pass through a fine sieve, pressing down with a spoon, into a bowl below.

5 Decant into a sterilized 250ml/8fl oz jar or bottle (see tip). You can eat it straight away and store in the fridge for up to 3 months.

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TIP: Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water, then place them on a baking tray (cookie sheet) and put in an oven preheated to 140°C, 275°F, gas mark 1 for about 15 minutes.

SWEET THAI CHILLI SAUCE

MAKES: 300ML/½ PINT (1¼ CUPS) | PREP: 10 MINUTES | COOK: 15 MINUTES

It’s fun to make your own sweet chilli sauce at home, and it’s surprisingly quick and easy to do, too. It should be stored in a screwtop jar, but sterilize it first by washing it out thoroughly and rinsing it well, then place on the shelf of a preheated oven set to 140°C, 275°F, gas mark 1 and leave for 20–30 minutes until dry.

5 long fresh red chillies, halved

6 garlic cloves, peeled

2.5cm/1in piece fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced

grated zest and juice of 2 limes

4 tbsp water

200g/7oz (scant 1 cup) white sugar

100ml/3½fl oz (generous ⅓ cup) rice vinegar

3 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce)

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