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Chili sauce, gaining popularity among Russian housewives, has long been successfully used in the cuisine of Southeast Asia, from where it began its triumphant journey through Africa, Latin America and Europe. It owes its name to the extremely hot and fiery chili pepper, which is the basis of this appetizing condiment.
The homeland of chili pepper is considered to be the western coast of the South American continent, from where sauces prepared on its basis began their victorious march around the world.
The ancient inhabitants of South America considered this type of pepper sacred and without fail sacrificed it to their aggressive gods, supplementing them with human sacrifices.
The main and unique feature of this pepper is the abundant content of chemical elements and vitamins useful for the human body.
Ascorbic and folic acids contained in the pulp of this fruit contribute to the acceleration of metabolism, and iron, zinc and potassium have a beneficial effect on maintaining the water-salt balance of the body. Biologically active capsacin, which gives pepper a peculiar pungent aroma and spicy taste, helps to strengthen the nervous system and increase appetite.
Not every person can consume fiery hot chili pepper in its natural form, and many people who have tasted the pod of this pepper experience “unforgettable” sensations. Most often it is used to prepare a huge variety of sauces, which are all combined into one common group and are called “Chili Sauce”.
Its pioneers were the people of Southeast Asia, who were the first to cook hot chili sauce, and later learned how to cook its spicy-sweet versions. Who first wrote down the recipe for chili sauce is unknown, but it certainly was a person who was well versed in cooking.
The uniqueness of sauces made with chili peppers is that they can be used with the same degree of effectiveness for seasoning dishes prepared from vegetables, meat and fish. Moreover, these dishes can be served both cold and hot – chili sauce is perfect as a seasoning for them.
For the convenience of users, retail chains sell canned products produced according to various recipes, but they, of course, cannot be compared with home-made sauces using fresh vegetables and fruits.
Homemade chili sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for six months or more. It will not lose its taste and aromatic qualities, greatly expanding the possibilities of housewives in cooking and preparing for the reception of guests.
We bring to your attention several recipes for chili sauce, which can decorate your table and make your meal more enjoyable and unusual.
Hot Chili Sauce (Standard)
Composition:
- chili pepper – 100 grams;
- garlic – 4 cloves;
- sugar – 2 teaspoons;
- sunflower (olive) oil – 2 teaspoons;
- ordinary or wine vinegar – 1 tablespoon;
- salt and starch – to taste.
To give a homogeneous mass, peel, cut into small pieces and chop the chili peppers and garlic with a blender. The resulting mixture must be transferred to a small metal saucepan and add all the remaining ingredients to it, with the exception of starch.
If you like to feel bits of pepper, a small part of it can be finely chopped and not passed through a blender.
Putting the pan on the fire, you should bring the mass to a boil, stirring it constantly. To give the chili sauce the necessary density, add a little starch to it, previously diluted in water, the amount of which each housewife can choose for herself.
Boiled sauce is removed from heat and put on ice. After cooling, it is completely ready for eating and seasoning various dishes.
Chili sauce sweet
Making hot-sweet chili sauce is also quite simple, but you should follow a certain recipe. Recommended by its authors living in the countries of Southeast Asia.
Composition:
- chili pepper – 3-4 pods;
- Garlic – 2 cloves;
- sugar – 50 grams;
- water – 100 grams;
- rice wine – 3 tablespoons;
- corn starch – 1 tablespoon;
- salt – 1 teaspoon.
Traditionally, grind the garlic and pepper until smooth, and add a small amount of extremely finely chopped chili pepper to the mixture. Put the resulting mass in a saucepan and cook until boiling.
Add starch dissolved in water to the boiled mixture, achieving a uniform consistency of the sauce. After boiling it for a few minutes, you can begin the process of cooling, and prepare the sauce for serving.
Many Russian housewives use not rice, but grape wine, replacing cornstarch with potato starch, and also increase the amount of sugar used. There is nothing wrong with this, because in any case, the product you have prepared will be absorbed by your guests and relatives with great pleasure.
Cucumbers in chili sauce
Russians traditionally remain adherents of pickles, among which pickles and pickled cucumbers rightfully hold the first place. In recent years, the preparation of pickled cucumbers using ketchups and various sauces has become increasingly common.
We decided to offer a recipe for making spicy pickled cucumbers in hot and spicy chili sauce.
To preserve spicy pickled cucumbers you will need:
- 1 kg fresh small cucumbers;
- 125 grams of sugar;
- 125 grams of vinegar;
- 8 grains of allspice;
- medium-sized horseradish root;
- 5-6 currant leaves;
- 2 laurel leaves;
- 1 teaspoon mustard powder;
- a bunch of dill;
- a tablespoon of salt;
We cover the bottom of the washed and sterilized three-liter jar with herbs and seasonings. Carefully washed and water-dried cucumbers are placed in jars so that their cut ends are at the top.
When preparing the marinade, 100 grams of fiery-hot chili sauce should be added to the traditional composition, which will add piquancy to the cucumbers, but will not be able to interrupt their traditional taste.
Pour the boiled marinade to the brim with a jar filled with cucumbers and set it to languish over low heat for 15 minutes. Try not to overexpose the cucumbers on the fire, so as not to get boiled vegetables.
After the sterilization process is completed, the jars are rolled up with metal lids and put away in a dark place. Opening this jar in winter, you can taste cucumbers preserved in spicy chili sauce, feeling their unforgettable taste and aroma.
Chili sauce for the winter
There are a great many recipes for sauces based on this capsicum, and every housewife has the opportunity to use various ingredients for their preparation. Tomatoes, various types of onions, ginger, cloves, bell peppers, as well as any kind of greens can be added to the sauce.
There are many options for various sauces using this hot pepper, but we want to offer a recipe that can please you with true summer freshness even in winter.
Composition:
- chili pepper – 350 grams;
- tomatoes – 4 kilograms;
- 5 medium onions;
- 2 heads of garlic;
- bunch of parsley;
- 12 teaspoons of sugar;
- 6 teaspoons of salt;
- 30 milliliters of sunflower oil;
- 40 grams of dark wine vinegar.
It should be remembered that with this composition you will get a fiery-bitter sauce, so if desired, the composition of the ingredients can be slightly adjusted.
Pepper, garlic, parsley and onion are cut into small pieces and chopped in a blender. Do not forget to leave a small amount of finely chopped chili peppers to give the cooking sauce a peculiar appearance.
Vegetable oil is poured into a large metal container and the prepared mixture is placed, which is fried for two to three minutes.
Tomatoes are cut and chopped, for which you can use a meat grinder. The resulting mass is also added to a metal container and boiled for half an hour, after which we remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
Famous culinary specialists recommend passing this mixture through a sieve in order to get rid of all the remaining lumps of tomatoes and their seeds.
After adding sugar and salt to the prepared sauce, put it on the stove again and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. A couple of minutes before the end of cooking, add vinegar and mix everything thoroughly again.
After removing the container from the fire, it remains only to pour the prepared chili sauce into pre-prepared sterilized jars and roll them up with metal lids. Store the finished sauce in a cool, dark place.