Hot Chili Sauce and Hot Chili Oil?

sriracha is similar to sambal, mostly a combination of pureed hot chiles and garlic though there are other ingredients too.

Hot chile oil is an oil in which dried hot chiles and other ingredients have been fried until the oil is flavorful. The the solids are removed.

Both sriracha and chile oil are used as condiments at the table and as ingredients in cooking, the oil most commonly as a finishing ingredient.

They don't really substitute for each other though both are spicy.

Phil

My basic mainstream grocer has sriracha and sambal. But these things vary from place to place so I can't say what yours might have.

Phil

You can also grind the chiles into a powder and soak them in oil for a few days, then strain the oil into a clean jar for use and storage. Takes longer but is, for me, less messy.

Shel

Hi Shel,
my intention is not to scare but rather inform. Your chili oil technique can potentially foster botulism particularly if you let the mixture soak at room temperature. Soaking anything in oil without heat treatment is a potential for botulism.

The classic chili oil recipe is add dried whole stemless cayenne pepper to some oil. Heat slowly until the pepper turn very dark brown but not burnt. Let cool. Strain and recuperate the oil. The heat treatment kills off the botulism spores.

Hot chili sauce is very vague and can mean anything from Heinz 57 chili sauce to Tabasco. I would try to get what is suggested.

Luc H

Using a dried ingredient is pretty safe Luc. If Shel used any wet ingredient, garlic for example, that's when the danger starts.

But it's important to remember that the commercial processors have techniques not available to home users to create safe products such as chili and garlic oil


Phil

Hot Chili Oil & Sambal Oelek/ Chili Sauce Recipe

Shel & Luc were both have their own opinions and nothing wrong with this. But Luc advise is good for good and safe food.

Here is some recipe from me:
HOT CHILI OIL:
30 Red Cayenne Pepper (depends on how hot you are prefered to)
10 Sun-dried Red Chili
3 cloves garlic - smashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp sugar
1/2 C coconut oil (you can substitute with other High Temp. Oil kinds)

Method:
a. Grind well all ingredients except oil, until all is blended and become a thick liquid. Heat a (bottom thick) pan with medium grade heat.

b. Put about 10 tbs oil into the pan and let them heat through, add in the grinding mixture. Stirring with medium heat until all mixture cooked & dried through, fragrance and the oil color changed into red, keep on stirring.

c. When all ingredients are blended in the oil, then add in the rest of the oil, turn the heat into high and cook for about 5 minutes more.

d. Turn off the heat, then let them cool, Strain and put in sterilized jar. You can keep it in room temperature for about 6 months. The preserve agents for wet ingredients are salt and sugar.

Note: If you wanted to have La You (Hot Sesame Oil), you can add grind white sesame. (1 tbs white sesame, dried them in a pan without oil in low heat for about 2 minutes). This Oil usually use for Chinese Sweet & Sour Sze Chuan Style Soup.

CHILI SAUCE/ SAMBAL OELEK:
30 Red Chilies (depends on how hot you are prefered to)
5 Sun-dried Red Chili
3 cloves garlic - smashed
6 Chinese Shallot or Golden Shallot - slice
1 ripe sour tomato - cubed
1 tbs tamarind juice (soak 3 tbs fresh tamarind with 6 tbs warm water)
2 tsp salt
1 tbs brown sugar/ gula melaka
1 keffir lime leaves - slice
2 bay leaves
5 tbs coconut oil (you can substitute with other High Temp. Oil kinds)

Method:
a. Grind all ingredients except oil and bay leaves until all is blended through. (More tastier & great fragrance if you grind with pestle and mortar as all the seeds will be blended thouroughly)

b. Heat a (bottom thick) pan with medium grade heat. Put the oil into the pan and let them heat through, then add in the grinding mixture. Stirring with medium heat until all mixture cooked & dried through, fragrance and the oil color changed into red, then add the bay leaves. Keep on stirring for about 5 minutes.

d. Turn off the heat, then let them cool and put in sterilized jar. You can keep it in room temperature for about 4 months. The preserve agents for wet ingredients are salt, sugar, tamarind and oil.

Good luck to you all. :lips:

One thing I hate to do is disagree with Luc. But in this case, his technique is no safer than Shel's.

To kill boutulism bacteria requires sustained temperatures of 240 degrees F. This can only be obtained, in the home kitchen, in a pressure canner or pressure cooker. No matter how long you cook something at lower temperatures, it doesn't kill the boutulism bacteria.

Chile oil is a capsicum infusion. What heat can do, when making an infusion, is hasten the process. That's what Luc's system does. He's producing the infusion right now, whereas Shel's system requires more time. A cold infusion can take as much as three weeks to complete.

Capsicum, btw, has anti-bacterial properties. Which is why an infusion of chilis is much safer than most other low-acid products. The capsicum, itself, sets up an environment that is non-condusive to bacterial growth.

Shel: FWIW, you don't have to bother grinding the chilies. Whole dried ones will infuse almost as quickly (yeah, I know, that doesn't seem to make sense. But it's true). Plus you don't have to bother straining the oil.

One other point: Try making a condiment using Sherry instead of oil. Capsicum is even more soluble in alcohol than in oil, and the
Sherry/chili combo makes a really nice flavoring.

In order to live up to that comment and especially coming from KYH, I will clarify my position in this matter.

Clostridum Botulinum is a spore making and toxin producing organism. The spores develop in a low acid, humid, temperate, protein rich environment and are found naturally in the ground.

Chili peppers (as most spices) are often in contact with the ground during open air/sun drying (particularly from third world country). The potential of being contaminated with C. Botulimum spores is real. Dried chili peppers soaked in oil without heating is as dangerous as consuming unpasteurized honey (pretty safe) but I still dislike the risk. By tradition, slow cooking is required and I trust this wisdom (based on my food science knowledge).

Water cannot exceed 100C (212F) because it boils. Oil, on the other hand, will reach much higher temperatures before boiling or flashing. For dried chili peppers to brown the temperature of the oil needs to exceed 100C and reach at least 250F to caramelize the natural sugars/starch/cellulose. The slow heat assures the long cooking required to kill the spores. When I make chili oil, it takes approx 1 hour to heat.

I agree with Patch that placing fresh garlic (wet) in oil is far more dangerous then Shel's chili oil recipe.

I also agree that Shel's recipe is pretty safe but I would caution on using the oil in a any food that will be left to steep for extended periods of time or inject into meat or feeding to young children or immune compromised people. It would be illegal to commercialize a product using Shel's technique based on the risk alone.

I hope I clarified my statement?

Luc H

I've been using "my" technique since 1979-80, with either ground or flaked dried chilies. I don't recall where I learned the technique, however, in the late 1980's Jim Tarantino, who wrote the book "Marinades" reinforced the idea that the technique was, indeed, acceptable. Jim had numerous recipes and ideas for infused oils, many of which he used in recipes in his restaurant, and quite a few of which found their way into his books, were used in cooking competitions, and so on. He made infused oils both with herbs and with dried chilies. For some infused oils, the oil would be heated first, the crumbled or dried chilies added, and the oil left to sit for several days before straining. For other infused oils, heating was not a part of the process.

In any case, I'm no scientist or expert on these matters. I defer to those who have taught me the technique, and listen attentively what what those here are saying.

Shel