Epicurious - ‘Pepper X’ Creator Ed Currie Tastes 17 Hot Condiments From Around the World | Epicurious
Smokin' Ed Currie, a professional hot sauce maker, takes viewers on a journey through various spicy condiments from around the world. He begins with Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp from China, noting its onion and garlic flavors. Next, he samples Achaar Indian Tomato Chili Sauce, appreciating its turmeric and tomato blend, suggesting it as a substitute for tomato paste. Sambal Oelek from Indonesia is praised for its saltiness and versatility in cooking. Steen's Cane Pepper Jelly from Louisiana is highlighted for its sweet cane sugar and pepper flavor, ideal for enhancing dishes like yams or chicken.
Currie continues with River Nile Piri Piri Sauce from Mozambique, noting its garlic-forward taste and suitability for fish or chicken. Carolina Reaper Pepper Honey from North Carolina is commended for its subtle pepper flavor without overwhelming heat. He also reviews Crushed Calabrian Chili from Italy, Mina's Harissa from Morocco, and Yuzu Kosho from Japan, each offering unique flavor profiles suitable for various dishes. Currie concludes with condiments like Mama Teav's Hot Garlic, Walkerwoods Jamaican Jerk, and Namprik Pao from Thailand, emphasizing their distinct tastes and culinary applications.
Key Points:
- Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp is rich in onion and garlic flavors, ideal for adding depth to dishes.
- Achaar Indian Tomato Chili Sauce can replace tomato paste for a unique twist in recipes.
- Sambal Oelek is a versatile Indonesian condiment, perfect for adding saltiness to various meals.
- Steen's Cane Pepper Jelly from Louisiana enhances dishes with its sweet and spicy cane sugar flavor.
- Carolina Reaper Pepper Honey offers a mild pepper taste, suitable for glazing meats or making honey mustard.
Details:
1. 🌶️ Introduction to Spicy Condiments
- Smokin' Ed Currie, a professional hot sauce maker and pepper breeder, introduces a journey exploring the spiciest condiments globally, focusing primarily on retail-ready products from US companies.
- The first product highlighted is Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp from Western China, which stands out due to its larger packaging relative to the typical six or eight-ounce jars.
- Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp is renowned for its complex flavor profile, combining chili, oil, soybeans, onion, and garlic, with an initial oniony taste followed by chilies and garlic.
2. 🇮🇳 Achaar Indian Tomato Chili Sauce
- Achaar Indian Tomato Chili Sauce is a traditional condiment found in India and Bangladesh, known for its unique blend of flavors.
- Key ingredients include red chili pepper, mustard seeds, turmeric, tamarind, and jaggery, contributing to a complex taste profile.
- The sauce exhibits a thick consistency with chunks of chili and tomato, enhancing its texture.
- Although tomatoes are the primary ingredient, turmeric stands out as the dominant flavor, offering an earthy taste.
- This sauce serves as a versatile substitute for tomato paste, adding a distinctive flavor to dishes such as chili and Italian cuisine.
- Culturally, Achaar is significant in Indian and Bangladeshi households, often accompanying meals as a staple condiment.
- Variations of the sauce exist, reflecting regional preferences and ingredient availability.
- The sauce can add depth to a variety of culinary creations, from traditional curries to modern fusion dishes.
3. 🇮🇩 Sambal Oelek: Indonesian Tradition
- Sambal Oelek is a traditional Indonesian condiment that plays a significant cultural role in Indonesian cuisine, often used to add a spicy kick to dishes.
- The condiment gained popularity in the United States in the 1980s, primarily due to Huy Fong Foods, a California-based company known for producing Sambal Oelek.
- Characterized by a salty flavor and the sweetness of red jalapenos, Sambal Oelek is versatile, commonly used in stir-fries, meatloaf, spaghetti, and more.
- Currently, there is a scarcity of red jalapenos due to drought conditions, impacting the availability of Sambal Oelek in the U.S. market.
- This scarcity presents challenges for both consumers who enjoy the condiment and producers like Huy Fong Foods who rely on these peppers for production.
4. 🇺🇸 Louisiana's Steen's Cane Pepper Jelly
4.1. Production Process of Steen's Cane Pepper Jelly
4.2. Flavor Profile and Culinary Uses of Steen's Cane Pepper Jelly
5. 🌍 River Nile Piri Piri Sauce from Mozambique
- River Nile Piri Piri Sauce is a traditional hot sauce from Mozambique made with piri piri peppers, which are very small and difficult to pick, requiring four hours to gather enough for one bottle.
- The recipe is four generations old and includes ingredients like lemon juice, purified water, garlic, onions, piri piri peppers, chili peppers, and salt.
- Despite lemon juice and water being the primary ingredients, garlic is the predominant flavor, with hints of sweetness from onions and a subtle pepper taste.
- The sauce has a unique flavor possibly attributed to a cayenne mash, which may be salted or fermented.
- The sauce is deemed delicious and versatile, suitable for pairing with fish, chicken, or pork tenderloin.
6. 🍯 Carolina Reaper Pepper Honey
- The Carolina Reaper Pepper Honey from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, features an innovative infusion of spices into honey, creating a visually appealing and flavorful product.
- The honey appears crystal clear and spun, with no visual indication of pepper, yet delivers a pronounced pepper flavor without overwhelming heat.
- The infusion technique uses a minimal amount of pepper to enhance flavor rather than heat, making it suitable for a variety of culinary applications.
- Recommended uses include glazing pork chops or combining with mustard to create a spiced honey mustard for barbecue dishes.
7. 🇮🇹 Crushed Calabrian Chili from Italy
7.1. Characteristics and Ingredients of Calabrian Chili
7.2. Culinary Uses of Calabrian Chili
8. 🇲🇦 Mina's Harissa: Moroccan Spice
- Mina's Harissa is a shelf-stable product, providing convenience for long-term storage and use.
- The harissa features traditional Moroccan flavors, making it authentic and appealing for those seeking genuine North African cuisine.
- Key ingredients include red chili pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, cider vinegar, salt, and citric acid, ensuring a blend of spicy, sweet, and tangy flavors.
- The product can be used as a versatile ingredient, substituting for tomatoes to add a new dimension to dishes like tomato soup.
- Its flavor profile includes bitter tones from Hungarian-type pepper and sweetness from bell pepper, balanced by the warmth of garlic.
9. 🇯🇵 Yuzu Kosho: Japanese Citrus and Spice
- Yuzu Kosho is a traditional Japanese condiment made from yuzu (citron), green pepper, and salt, often described as a fermented chili mash flavored with citrus.
- The condiment is noted for its extremely salty taste with sweet undertones from both citron and pepper, lacking a pronounced fermented flavor.
- Yuzu Kosho's aroma is captivating, likened to candy rather than a salty smell, and features a mild pepper flavor similar to Anaheim or shishito peppers.
- It is recommended for enhancing dishes such as stir fries, rice, or noodle dishes with its unique flavor profile.
- The product's appeal and unique flavor make it a desirable item to bring home for culinary experimentation.
- Yuzu Kosho preparation involves fermenting the mixture of yuzu, peppers, and salt over time to develop its distinct flavor.
- There are variations of Yuzu Kosho, including versions made with red peppers, which provide a different heat and flavor profile.
- Yuzu Kosho holds cultural significance in Japanese cuisine, often used to add depth and complexity to traditional dishes.
- Common applications in dishes include using it as a topping for grilled meats, a flavor enhancer in soups, or a condiment for sashimi.
10. 🌶️ Mama Teav's Hot Garlic: Cambodian Flavor
- Mama Teav's Hot Garlic contains seven natural ingredients: cold-pressed grapeseed oil, garlic, chilies, onion, salt, mushrooms, and celery salt.
- Unique ingredient use: mushrooms are rarely seen in chili crisps.
- The peppers are sourced from the Cambodian-Thailand border, enhancing authenticity and traditional flavor.
- Chilies are finely chopped for a distinct texture compared to thicker chili crisps.
- The garlic flavor is prominent, fried into large chunks, providing a unique taste experience.
- Recommended for those seeking a unique, oily, and crisp tasting experience.
11. 🇯🇲 Walkerwoods Jamaican Jerk
- Walkerwoods Jamaican Jerk marinade is produced in Jamaica and available in the United States, highlighting its international reach.
- The marinade is considered one of the better options on the market, indicating a high-quality product reputation.
- Key ingredients include scallions, hot peppers, salt, black pepper, ground pimento, nutmeg, citric acid, brown sugar, and thyme, which contribute to its traditional Jamaican flavor profile.
- It is designed to be rubbed on meat and then slow-cooked over a grill, emphasizing its use in enhancing meat dishes.
- The marinade is notably aromatic and strong, suggesting a potent flavor impact without needing to be close to the source.
- Jerk sauces generally use Scotch bonnets or habaneros, with spices balancing the heat for a more balanced taste.
- The marinade is especially effective in adding good texture and flavor to meats like goat, pork, and beef.
12. 🇩🇪 Löwensenf: German Mustard Delight
- Löwensenf is a traditional Düsseldorf mustard popular in Germany.
- Key ingredients include mustard seeds, vinegar, drinking water, and salt, providing a bold spice that complements meats well.
- Unlike French Dijon mustard, which uses vinegar and white wine for a sweeter, smoother taste, Düsseldorf mustard has a more bitter profile.
- Löwensenf is a preferred condiment for sausages and various wursts, especially at events like Oktoberfest.
13. 🇹🇭 Namprik Pao: Thai Tradition
- Namprik Pao is a traditional Thai condiment that includes tamarind juice and is known for its flavorful taste.
- The condiment is typically used as an additive to meals, enhancing dishes with its thick paste consistency and strong aroma of fish sauce.
- It is characterized by a salty taste and spicy, sweet flavor profile due to the Thai bird chili, which is picked ripe and sun-dried.
- Namprik Pao is a staple in Thai cuisine, reflecting its cultural significance and versatility in enhancing various dishes, such as clam chowder.
- Regional variations exist in Thailand, each providing a unique twist that reflects local culinary traditions.
14. 🇲🇽 Salsa Macha and Salsa Seca from Mexico
- Salsa macha from Veracruz, Mexico, consists of slow-fried chipotles and peanuts in a smoky chili oil, using just four ingredients: canola oil, chipotle, peanuts, and sea salt.
- This salsa has a garlicky flavor without being overpowering, and the chili provides a mild taste with no heat.
- The salsa is balanced with as much finely chopped peanuts as chilies, infused in a tasty smoky chili oil.
- Recommended uses include adding to rice and beans, goat dishes, or as an additive to tuna ceviche.
- Salsa Seca, from a different region of Mexico, focuses on being a seed salsa with ingredients like canola oil, chipotle morita, peanuts, pecans, and almonds.
- This salsa is characterized by a dry oil texture where nuts and seeds are the predominant flavors, with chili peppers as a complementary flavor.
- The texture offers a unique mouthfeel unlike traditional sesame seed flavors found in other cuisines, such as Korean dumpling sauces.
15. 🇮🇳 Vada Pav Chutney from Mumbai, India
- HERDEZ Salsa Ranchera is highly valued in America for its quality, especially its smoky chipotle peppers.
- This salsa includes water, green chile peppers, ancho chile peppers, and tomato paste, which are cooked and blended for a robust flavor.
- While not overly hot, this salsa enhances the taste of dishes like enchiladas.
- For Indian cuisine, particularly Vada Pav, this salsa can be an innovative substitute or complement to traditional chutneys, offering a unique fusion flavor.