Robin: Although I am enthusiastic about many recipes, very few of them excite me as much as this one does. This spicy table sauce is a classic in Mexico for adding life and flavor to pozole and other soups, but it´s just as good on breakfast eggs, fried or grilled meats, or any corn-based or creamy savory dish. Heck, it´s so good that I just add a schmear of sour cream to a cracker, top it with a drop or two of chile de arbol sauce, and am blown away with how delectable it all is.
Mexican cuisine features hundreds of delicious table sauces (called that because they are placed on the table and used by each person to his/her own taste—as opposed to cooking sauces, which are an integral part of a dish), but this one is unusual on several counts. It´s oil-based and contains no water or vinegar. It also does not call for tomatoes or tomatillos, as so many Mexican sauces do. Onion, an ingredient that often promotes fermentation, is also absent, allowing this sauce to stay good for weeks in the refrigerator.
The peppers used for this sauce, chile de arbol and (optional) guajillo chiles, are dried, not fresh; these can be found in many Hispanic markets and even some large, well-stocked general supermarkets.
This recipe makes only about two cups of sauce, but that is plenty even for a crowd, since the flavor is very concentrated and you´ll only need a few drops per portion. Yes, it´s quite spicy—but its wonderfulness lies in the combination of that piquancy with the rich flavors of the other ingredients. You know all those food-writing clichés, “complexly-flavored,” “addictive,” “eye-opening,” “insanely delicious,” etc.? I could use them all here and they´d all be true for once … but you won´t understand until you try the sauce for yourself, so just do it!
Chile de Arbol Sauce (Salsa de chile de árbol en aceite)
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cloves fresh garlic peeled
- 50 grams (about 1.8 ounces) dried chile de árbol stems removed
- 2 guajillo chiles stems removed (optional)
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt
Instructions
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You are going to be frying the dry ingredients, each one separately, in the oil. Be sure you are working in a space with ample ventilation and that you are able to give 100% of your attention to this task (which is brief, but crucial). Be careful that none of the ingredients burn, as that would make the sauce bitter.
Heat the oil in a medium-sized sauce pan. Do not let it get hot enough to smoke or start boiling.
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Place the garlic cloves, whole, into the oil and fry them for a minute or two, turning them often with a pair of tongs. Once they look toasty golden, take them out of the oil and place them into the container of a blender.
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Place the chiles de árbol into the oil to fry. Use the tongs to constantly turn the chiles over so that they don´t burn on any side. Fry gently until they are golden brown, one or two minutes. Remove the chiles from the oil and add them to the garlic in the blender container.
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If you are using he guajillo chiles, fry them gently in the same way, then add them to the blender.
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Now take the sauce pan off the burner. Add the sesame seeds and oregano to the oil. Allow the pan to sit for a while, until the oil has cooled down enough that it can be handled without danger.
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Pour the oil into the blender container and add the salt. Blend on medium high for about 30 seconds, until the chiles, their seeds, and the sesame seeds are well pulverized.
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Pour your delicious chile de árbol sauce into a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Use a spoon to dish it out by drops (it is quite spicy, after all) to flavor nearly any plain savory dish such as grilled or roasted meats, soups or stews, potato or corn dishes, or anything creamy.
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Store your jar of sauce in the fridge, where it will keep perfectly for at least 3 weeks.
Important: Stir well each time you use it, as the oil and the other ingredients quicklyl separate.
Recipe Notes
Variations: Once you´ve tried the sauce as written above, try substituting the sesame with a handful of peanuts, pecans, or almonds for a flavor twist.
A few ideas of what to use Chile de Arbol Sauce on:
More scrumptious sauces:
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