Hot sauce

[daveb]

ok sorting and cleaning files i ran across an old old recipe i had forgotten all about and had looked for for some time

1 c thai red chili peppers (about100g). *Start with less (about half) if you want a more mild, gentle hot sauce
4-5 med. cloves of Garlic, crushed or minced
2 med Shallots, minced
1 T Vegetable Oil
2 - 8 oz. (or 1- 15 oz.) can of Tomato Sauce
1 T Fish Sauce (don't skimp out on this!) or use Soy Sauce, if you can, try to use the Fish Sauce. ( i use Red boat fish Sauce 40°N )
3 T Rice Vinegar
3 T Sugar

Directions:

Remove stems of chili peppers, rinse clean. Blot dry with paper towel. Wearing rubber gloves, mince the chili peppers. The smaller the cut, the smoother your final sauce will be.
In sauce pan, heat oil then add minced garlic and shallots. Over medium-high heat saute for a about 1 minute or until light brown and fragrant. (don't burn your garlic!)
Add tomato sauce and minced chili peppers. Let sauce come to a simmer then lower heat to keep at a low simmer. Add fish sauce, vinegar, and sugar. Mix well.
Continue simmering sauce for about 5 minutes. This will break down the chili peppers and soften them to create the smooth consistency.
Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.
Transfer sauce to blender and blend till smooth or until most of the chili pepper skin and seeds break down- preferably on the "liquefy" mode.
Taste the hot sauce. Further customize the hot sauce to your liking: add more sugar, vinegar or water. Blend one last time till smooth. Pour into clean, air tight jar and refrigerate. Use within about 1 week

you can hot pack and process this like canning into small 1/2 cup jelly jars, or used cleaned and sanitized Tabasco sauce bottles

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

Ooh sounds yummy. What kind of "tomato sauce" would you use? As people in different countries would think different things. My Dutch me would think ketchup, Aussies think tomato sauce (for on hotdogs), and others think canned whole or diced tomatoes.

I've never actually tried fish sauce, what does it taste like

 

[daveb]

Ooh sounds yummy. What kind of "tomato sauce" would you use? As people in different countries would think different things. My Dutch me would think ketchup, Aussies think tomato sauce (for on hotdogs), and others think canned whole or diced tomatoes.

I've never actually tried fish sauce, what does it taste like

tomato sauce as in a slightly concentrated tomato puree , think of a cross between a pasta sauce for and ketchup for thickness but no herbs or spices add, but actually you could really use a fine dices tomato and reduce it a bit all depends on texture you want this is about the thickness i think of when i mean a sauce. and as for fish sauce it is fermented preserved fish stock made from anchovy it has a unique tang from fermentation with a pronounce salty tone first impression is visual it looks like soy sauce its savory subtle and adds as some say that extra note of umami to the flavors

 

[digitaltfc]

Good call on the fish sauce, as it gives the sauce a deeper dimension. I think this would be a great experiment one of these days!

 

[Mandy Onderwater]

I think the kind of tomato sauce you were intending might be what we call "pasatta" here, come to think of it.

I've never had fish sauce but people often said it really adds another layer of flavour to the meal. I've been hesitant to try as I truly don't like "fishy" flavours. Maybe it's more umami than that?