Hoi An Chilli Sauce (Tương ớt Hội An)

October 20, 2011

Hoi An Chilli Sauce (Tương ớt Hội An) © kvalifood.com

A rich, deeply flavoured chilli sauce from Hoi An in central Vietnam. This is a proper batch recipe - you simmer whole chillies, blend them, then cook the puree with garlic, sugar, and fried shallots in oil until everything comes together into a thick, fragrant sauce. It’s the base for the chilli satay sauce and works on its own as a condiment for just about anything.

Ingredients

1 kg mild long red chillies
100 g spicy small red chillies
1.5 l water
1 tbsp rock salt
500 ml vegetable oil
200 g garlic, pounded
200 g sugar
80 g chicken stock powder
150 g fried shallots

Directions

Cut the tops off both the mild and spicy red chillies and discard the stems.
Bring the 1.5 litres of water to a simmer with the rock salt. Add all the chillies and cook for 30 minutes until they are soft.
Transfer the softened chillies to a blender along with about 2 cups of the cooking water. Blend until smooth.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large wok over low heat. Add the pounded garlic and cook gently, stirring, for about 10 minutes - you want it softened and fragrant, not browned.
Pour in the blended chilli puree and cook for another 10 minutes, stirring from time to time to prevent sticking.
Stir in the chicken stock powder and sugar. Mix well and let the sauce simmer for 10 more minutes.
Add the fried shallots, stir through, and cook for a final 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
Let the sauce cool completely, then transfer to airtight glass jars.

Notes

Keeps in the refrigerator for about 1 month.
This makes a large batch. Scale down proportionally if you don’t need a kilogram of chilli sauce.
The fried shallots add texture and sweetness - use the ones from the crispy fried shallots recipe or store-bought.