Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce)

 
Last week, I wrote about Laylita’s Baked Plaintain with Cheese recipe, which I served with Aji Criollo, an Ecuadorian hot sauce/salsa.  The hot sauce adds a bite to the dish served. 

For those of you who like their foods hot, this is a hot sauce for you. For those who don’t like or can’t eat spicy, just look at the photo.  It’s good and hot and not for the faint of heart, or should I say it’s not for the faint of tongue.   You use hot peppers like serranos, jalapenos or habaneros.  I chose serranos, which turned out perfect for me.  You can also make make the hot sauce a little milder by removing the membranes and the seeds.  Of course, I left them in.  Of course.

What I loved about this hot sauce is that I could taste the freshness of all the ingredients — the hot peppers, the cilantro (cilantro!), the garlic, lime and onions.  It certainly beat the store-bought, preservative-filled bottle of hot sauce any day.  I also loved that this hot sauce was easy to make.  I simply put the ingredients together in the blender and I was practically done.

According to Laylita, it’s better to finish the hot sauce the same day but it can last up to 3 days.  It lasted less than a day and a half in my house.  Everyone loved this hot sauce with the baked plantain and used it to eat with other foods the next day.  I won’t say who specifically because I do not want to get in trouble, but I spied someone lifting their plate and licking the remnants of the hot sauce clean from it.  LOL! 

Yeah, it was that good (and hot!).

Oh by the way, did you know that if you eat something that’s too hot for you, you’re not supposed to drink water.  That does nothing to lessen the burning of your tongue.  Instead, you’re supposed eat a piece of bread.  I’ve actually tried it before and found that it does indeed work.

Thanks for the recipe, Laylita!

Paz

Ed. Note:  In the post, I mentioned one way to cool down your mouth/tongue after eating something hot (eating a slice of bread).  In the comments section, Sra of When My Soup Came Alive added some suggestions — According to her aunt, milk is "supposed to help".  On the other hand, Sra has found that drinking hot water "helps" her.

Pia of Serendipity, Synchronicity and Saffron writes that a tomato slice "works wonders".

If you have any tips on how to lessen the heat of a spicy food after taking a bite, please share with us.

Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce) served with Baked Plantain with Cheese

Aji Criollo (Ecuadorian Hot Sauce)

Laylita’s Recipes

Ingredients:

4 ajies or hot peppers (jalapenos, serranos and habaneros are good replacements)

1/2 bunch of cilantro (stems and leaves)

1/2 cup of water

3 garlic cloves

Juice from 1/2 lime or lemon

3 Tbs finely chopped white onion (scallions can also be used)

Salt

Preparation:

Combine the hot peppers, cilantro, water, garlic cloves and lime juice in the blender and blend well.

Add the chopped white onions and salt to taste.