Cookaholics Bulletin Board

... not that both of those aren't terrific. But sometimes (let's face it, often), as a gourmet foodie-snop-type-person, I really need to have something in a different hot sauce. Those supermarket staples just aren't good enough for me; I need something more exotic.

Do you?

Here's a few of my favorite, more offbeat hot sauces. Tell me yours!

Harissa: Middle Eastern mix of peppers, carrots, salt and caraway. Terrific on felafel, but also on more "American" sandwiches as well. Also good mixed into ME dishes. My favorite prepared brand so far is "Piquant" in a can, but I'd be willing to consider others.

Don Juan Aji Chileno: Chilean hot sauce made entirely with fermented medium-hot peppers and salt. Inexplicably delicious. Hard for me to get; I can only find it at a few online stores who want $9.99, plus $10 shipping.

Bufalo Brand Chipotle Sauce: Bufalo, who are fairly popular hot sauce vendors to Spanish-speaking markets (at least here out West) do a ground chipotle sauce which is one of the best ways to "kick up" mild-flavored Mexican food I've found.

Oh, also, if anyone knows a really good Korean hot sauce, I'd love a tip. A Korean restaurant near me does an excellent one, but it's house-made, so I can't get bottles of it.

I really like sambal. The regular red stuff but there is also a coconut one that has dried shrimp in it that is divine. It is perhaps a bit dry to be called a sauce though. I also like Indian chilli pickle, great on roast beef sandwiches. Also not really a sauce. Never mind.

Mary

Gichujang (sp) sauce (Korean) is supposed to be really good. I haven't tried it, because I can't find it here in Bay City. I was going to buy a bottle when I was in Vegas last year, but then I realized I wouldn't be able to take it on the plane in my carry-on.

I would like a good Harissa recipe. The ones I've tried haven't been hot enough or quite right.

Well, to be fair to the TSA, a really good bottle of hot sauce is definitely a weapon.

Closer to home, have you tried any of the Korean markets in the Detroit area?

Except for the airport, I haven't been to Detroit in years. I am not a fan of Detroit, so I don't go there unless somebody else really really wants to go. What area of Detroit has the Korean Markets?

When I lived in Southfield there was a really nice one just around the corner. I'll ask Geekboy tonight if he remembers the name of it. They made kimchi in the back and it was absolutely mouth-watering.

Moroccan Harissa:

(based on a recipe from Kitty Morse)

6-8 medium dried chiles, such as New Mexico
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1 teaspoon caraway seed
1/4 cup olive oil

Split the chiles (seed them for a less hot harissa) and soak in warm water for 1 hour. Chop them and the garlic roughly, then put the peppers, garlic, and caraway seed in a mortar & pestle*. Throw the salt on top and grind to a paste. Mix in half the olive oil, and put in a jar. Cover with the rest of the olive oil. Keeps for a few weeks in the fridge.

This recipe doesn't have the carrots, though. I haven't been able to find one that does. Sometimes cumin and/or coriander is also added. Tunisian Harissa is the same, only with 3 times as much garlic.

(* or a vitamix or indian food grinder)

There are three hot sauces I keep in the fridge at all times, besides the sriracha and the chili paste w/garlic (the only two that I buy): Nam Prik Pao (I've posted that before, I know!), Nam Pla Prik (simply chopped fresh Thai chiles soaked in fish sauce), and Salsa Negra (Bayless's version). In the freezer I also keep some Thai curry pastes, as well as a cooked sambal olek (I like the recipe from Cradle Of Flavor best - the store-bought are nothing remotely like this) - the raw sambal, while I like it the most, does not keep as well. I'm not a fan of vinegar based hot sauces; though they have their place, these are much more versatile, and have much more flavor. A friend of mine puts nam pla prik on some Italian foods, which sounded strange at first, but, like he says, they use anchovies and hot pepper flakes in a lot of things, and this is just a different way of adding that flavor!