- Sambals, sriracha, red paper,
(record scratch) red paper flakes.
That's when you just rip up red paper and you put it on.
Not very good. (laughs)
(upbeat music)
Hello and welcome to A Little Help.
It's me, Lee Kalpakis, and today we're talking hot stuff.
Humans have used chili peppers
and hot spices in food (kettle whistles)
for thousands of years, all over the world.
And guess what? It's all delicious.
Aside from adding a ton of flavor to pretty much anything,
condiments made with hot peppers have
vitamin C, vitamin A, antioxidants,
and can even help relieve inflammation.
And they're tasty. - Gee!
- It's way easier than you think
to make some spicy, staple condiments found across cultures
and today we're showing you how to make our top three.
Hot sauce, chili oil, and crushed red pepper flakes.
While all readily available for purchase
at your local grocery store,
making them at home definitely makes
for a much more flavorful result.
We're starting with the old standby,
the stuff that crowds my refrigerator
the stuff that Beyonce keeps in her purse, hot sauce.
Tabasco is the earliest recognizable brand
of hot sauce manufactured in the US beginning in 1868.
So, this stuff has been around
for a really long time and much like Tabasco,
the stuff we're making today is a super simple recipe.
The most basic recipes for hot sauce call
for just three ingredients.
Chili peppers, salt, and vinegar.
Which encourages fermentation
and acts as a natural preservative.
We're gonna combine one pound of jalapeños,
a few habaneros for extra spice,
and two tablespoons of salt.
Put everything in the bowl of a food processor
and combine it until it makes a coarse paste.
(food processor grinding)
(hi-hats crashing)
Paste. (ding)
Then transfer the paste to a quart-sized jar,
screw on the lid, then unscrew slightly.
Allow it to stand at room temperature
for about 12 hours to ferment slightly.
Stir in vinegar, then screw on the lid,
unscrew slightly, and let the chili mixture stand
at room temperature at least one day or up to seven days.
The longer it sits, the deeper the flavor.
Puree mixture in a blender or food processor
and then strain it through a fine mesh sieve
into a clean class jar or bottle.
It will thin and may separate after you strain it,
but that's okay, just shake it vigorously before using.
Keep refrigerated for up to four months.
Next up, we have chili oil
which is a super popular condiment in China.
It's made from infusing vegetable oil with chili peppers
and sometimes you throw some other stuff in there.
It's particularly popular in Szechuan cooking,
both as an ingredient in cooking and as a condiment.
Personally, I dump it on everything.
In a small saucepan, heat the oil, star anise,
cinnamon, bay leaves, and peppercorns over medium heat.
When the oil reaches 225 degrees, allow the mixture to cook.
Adjusting heat as necessary to keep the oil
between 225 and 250 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Stir together crushed pepper flakes and salt
in a medium, heat proof bowl.
Pour infused oil through a fine, mesh sieve
over the pepper flakes and discard the aromatics.
Stir to combine, allow to cool completely,
then transfer it to a jar.
Chili oil will keep refrigerated for up to six months.
Last we have crushed pepper flakes,
a staple of pizza parlors everywhere.
Consist of dry and crushed chili peppers.
Usually there's a high ratio of seeds,
which gives it the most spice.
Of all the spicy condiments, this might be the very easiest,
requiring just two things, fresh peppers and a lot of time.
We're gonna preheat our oven to 200 degrees.
Cut the tops of the peppers and arrange them evenly
between two half sheet trays lined with aluminum foil.
Place in the oven and dry them out, six to 12 hours.
Watch closely because you don't want to burn the peppers,
just dehydrate them.
Wow, look at those wrinkly mother(bleep).
In batches, pulse the dried chilies
in a bowl of a food processor until they're coarsely ground.
Then transfer them to a jar and they'll keep
for up to six months.
(bounce)
Hot sauce, chili oil, pepper flakes.
Now you have everything that you need
to set your mouth on fire over, and over,
and over, and over, and over again.
And all you needed, was a little help.
(salsa music)
I started yelling at the end there.
- [Woman] You're really excited.
- Guess what, it's good! Okay.
(beep)
Thank so much for watching.
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