Chili pepper paste or sauce

[dragnlaw]

Back again trying to define chili heat. Wish there was a set standard. European, asian, North American. Code 1 to 10.

Made a sauce today that called for chili-garlic sauce. Was going to use Sambal Oelek which is called Chili Paste.
Remembered the last (only time, so far!) that I used it. Barely a 1/4 tsp and it was HOT.

This recipe called for 1 tsp. oh oh... better think this one thru!

In my fridge found some (President's Choice brand) "Memories of Thailand" 'fiery chili pepper sauce'... which was not so "fiery".

I subbed for that rather than the sambal but now realize I could easily have added more of this ingredient.

so 1st question is....

How are we supposed to gauge just how "hot" a sauce/paste/etc is for individual recipes????

2nd question is....

what is a good way to taste test different 'hot' spices. eat bread between tasting? or something else? yogurt? cheese? what gets rid of the heat in your mouth to gauge the next sample?

Btw, it was delicious, Pla Krapong Paw. Grilled (I baked it) fish (salmon) with Coriander-Chili Sauce.

soooooo good, even thou could have added more heat (but just a little, I still like to distinguish various flavours!).

That's with roasted Brussels accented with zest and garlic, with the lemon-grass scented rice (from the other day ) cooked in coconut milk.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

While I do not have an answer to your question, I would have used the 1/4 teaspoon of Sambal and 3/4 teaspoon of the sauce you used.

 

[GotGarlic]

The Scoville scale is the standard for defining the heat in chiles: http://www.chilliworld.com/factfile/scoville_scale.asp

And I found this page that lists lots of hot sauces and their heat levels compared to a jalapeño: http://www.worldhottesthotsauce.com/

A lot of this depends on individual heat tolerance, though. I would always add a little, taste, add more if needed and make a note on your recipe.

 

[Andy M.]

What you consider scorchingly hot may be like baby food to someone else. So it's difficult to assign a scale of 1-10. Then when a new sauce is introduced, you'd have to redo the scale.

If you buy a new hot sauce for a recipe, you have to taste a little on a cracker or piece of bread to determine the heat level so you know how much to use. You add a little to the recipe and taste. Then add more or not. It all depends on how hot you want the finished dish. You have to adjust the heat for the person who can tolerate the least.

 

[BBQ Mikey]

Chili Paste is always fairly hot, some more garlicky. The sauce is sweet and is sometimes called chili relish rather than chili sauce. The sauce is very agreeable, while the chili paste usually needs a vinegar like inclusion for balance in most dishes I see it used. I started using chili paste in my BBQ sauces for added heat.

 

[dragnlaw]

whew!
I went to GotGarlic's posted sites... no wonder I found the Sambal Oelek hot - 2,300 Scoville Heat Units.

It has only been in the last several years that I've been getting into 'hot'. Starting with lovely salad pecorochini's and jalepeno's - love them stuffed - and now using the little red Thai chilli's in various recipes. I usually only use one but in the Jamaican Lamb and Goat Curry I did use 4.

I know that heat tolerance is an extremely individual level. Yes, I also agree that you really do start to crave more and more. Unfortunately I have a sensitive stomach to many things so must go extra slow.

Again, having stated this before - I want to be able to taste the other ingredients in the recipe. too often people don't understand that... they just want to keep on adding heat - I don't call that cooking, I call it being .... oh well, never mind, don't want to be booted out!

Thanks guys, really appreciate your input.

 

[TaraWildes]

My aunt from Guam grows little chilis that look like minature Thai chilis. The plant bushes out and is covered with hundreds of little bright red peppers. She crushes them with a mortar and pestle, adds a little rice wine vinegar and sugar to make a paste, and eats it on darn near everything. Excellent flavor but quite hot. Love it spread very thinly on crunchy green mangos. Just can't handle much of it!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

My aunt from Guam grows little chilis that look like minature Thai chilis. The plant bushes out and is covered with hundreds of little bright red peppers. She crushes them with a mortar and pestle, adds a little rice wine vinegar and sugar to make a paste, and eats it on darn near everything. Excellent flavor but quite hot. Love it spread very thinly on crunchy green mangos. Just can't handle much of it!

Green mangoes...how do those taste?

 

[Whiskadoodle]

In addition to sambal oelek, I would like to try using Togarashi sauce (Japanese chili plus spices blend) and Gochujang ( a Korean chili paste).

I have a passle of Korean recipes backed up waiting to try. I have no idea why I told myself I should use Togarashi sauce.

My "go to" sauce is Tiger Sauce. It says Try Me on the label. So I did.
It starts out sweet and then the heat (pleasantly) kicks in. 1 - 3 tsps is plenty. It is ethnic-cuisine neutral. I use in home made bbq sauce, baked beans, a dollop in tomato based sauces or Asian/ stir fry/ fried rice dishes. Sometimes mixed with mayo on sandwiches, sometimes to balance or finish a dish, much like a recipe says "correct the seasonings" when they mean add salt or pepper. It may be found at your grocers near the Tabasco sauce for lack of anywhere else logical to display.

TryMe Tiger Sauce 10 oz. - Reily Foods Company

 

[Rocklobster]

Just keep eating and taking notes. You will figure out what flavors you like and what level of heat you like with certain dishes.....I like really hot stuff, but some dishes taste better with a low level of heat or even none at all. I like to try and use a chili condiment that originates from the same ethnicity/region/country of the dish I am using. Heat is one thing, but flavors are another...Sometimes I add a little when cooking and then may add more while it is on my plate if I find it needs it. Stir it in, or dip it in a little plop on the side. No rules....your rules....

 

[dragnlaw]

Green mangoes...how do those taste?

I have found a few recipes that call for green mangoes. If and when I find them again, am asking my BIL, who is a trucker delivering fresh produce, to get me some.

The flavour is supposed to be different. Still mango but.... when I find those mischievously disappearing recipes, I'll let you know!

 

[Roll_Bones]

The Scoville scale is the standard for defining the heat in chiles: The Scoville Heat Scale for Chilli Peppers and Hot Sauces from ChilliWorld. Compare relative heats all the way to Blair's 6 A.M. - pure capsaicin.

And I found this page that lists lots of hot sauces and their heat levels compared to a jalapeño: WorldHottestHotSauce.com

A lot of this depends on individual heat tolerance, though. I would always add a little, taste, add more if needed and make a note on your recipe.

Thanks for the list. I can now print it out and take it with me to the bar.
There was discussion on what was the hottest pepper and most of them thought it was still the habanero.

Of course we now know thats not true. But in Inman SC, it takes a decade or so for any new information to be absorbed.

 

[cave76]

Green mangoes...how do those taste?

Green mangoes are delicious---- but not sweet. More for savory dishes than sweet ones. Here is an easy version of a salad that's very common.

Thai Green Mango Salad (Som Tum Mamuang) Recipe | SAVEUR

Here's another one:

Salad - Thai Green Mango Salad Recipe

The times I've made it I wasn't always 'picky'---- for instance didn't look for the Thai red peppers but used Jalapeno's or ???
I also left out the string beans. But it's one of those salads that can have different ingredients.

Fish sauce is one ingredient that can't be left out. If you haven't cooked with fish sauce before---- do NOT sniff it in the bottle! It might turn you off. But used in cooking it's marvelous and just can't be replaced.

 

[cave76]

I have a very high tolerance for heat in sauces------ but once we went to an Indonesian restaurant in San Francisco and asked the waiter to bring their 'hot sauce' because what was on the table wasn't very hot to our standards.

Well------- I'll never do that again!!!! OOPHH!! WOW! Blew the top of our heads off!

 

[taxlady]

Cave, you reminded me of an episode at a Thai resto with my sister. She doesn't like much heat in her food. I'm happy up to, and including, vindaloo hot.

I said I wanted meal medium hot. My sister expressed her reservations. Since it was a meal for two, they brought us a "mildly hot" sauce. I put some on my food - no heat that I could detect. I tried the food without the sauce. It was mildly hot. The danged sauce managed to have negative heat.

 

[cave76]

Cave, you reminded me of an episode at a Thai resto with my sister. She doesn't like much heat in her food. I'm happy up to, and including, vindaloo hot.

I said I wanted meal medium hot. My sister expressed her reservations. Since it was a meal for two, they brought us a "mildly hot" sauce. I put some on my food - no heat that I could detect. I tried the food without the sauce. It was mildly hot. The danged sauce managed to have negative heat.

My 'mild' vent here ----- some people will pant and wave their hands wildly in from of their mouths with just a nano-particle of something that might be considered hot! I swear they see the word 'pepper' (like in black pepper or green pepper) and have a fit.

Now, I can't see how one fleck of black pepper in your food will make it 'hot'!

"Negative heat" Isn't that defying some law of physics?

 

[CraigC]

Thanks for the list. I can now print it out and take it with me to the bar.
There was discussion on what was the hottest pepper and most of them thought it was still the habanero.

Of course we now know thats not true. But in Inman SC, it takes a decade or so for any new information to be absorbed.

The top kid on the block!

A New Aussie Pepper Is Tops On The Scoville Scale - Relish - April 2011 - St. Louis MO

 

[taxlady]

I personally think of habaneros and Scotch bonnets as the hottest peppers - that I find worth using.

 

[GotGarlic]

Cave, you reminded me of an episode at a Thai resto with my sister. She doesn't like much heat in her food. I'm happy up to, and including, vindaloo hot.

I said I wanted meal medium hot. My sister expressed her reservations. Since it was a meal for two, they brought us a "mildly hot" sauce. I put some on my food - no heat that I could detect. I tried the food without the sauce. It was mildly hot. The danged sauce managed to have negative heat.

At my favorite Thai restaurant, those in the know can ask for the spice tray. It has five sauces - a couple different hot sauces, pepper pieces in vinegar and a couple others I can't remember - so you can spice up your meal as much as you like.

 

[jennyema]

At my favorite Thai restaurant, those in the know can ask for the spice tray. It has five sauces - a couple different hot sauces, pepper pieces in vinegar and a couple others I can't remember - so you can spice up your meal as much as you like.

Chili peppers in fish sauce. The ones here also often have a dry pepper powder.