What To Do With Bags...Many Bags...of Chile

It started out rather innocuously enough. Wife and I decided we needed to clean out the freezer. We have this tendency to enthusiastically process and freeze food (at least I do) and then equally enthusiastically forget about them. This leads to the amassing of many items that in time become more the source material for an archeologist than for a cook.

I did remember that I had some dried red chile from last season before we started. I use the red chile to make a number of condiments, condiments that I was out of. My age addled memory seemed to remember I had about three bags, not enough to make much of my condiments. So I went to the store and bought a bag of chile pods. Bad decision.

Umm

Just a few more bags than anticipated 😟

The first step of this process is to get the seeds out of the pods

This is not an easy process. It took me a good three hours to do this

Next we rehydrate the chiles by putting them in boiling water and letting them sit

Then I use the immersion blender to start breaking them down

The entire mass is then put through a sieve to get rid of the skin and any residual seeds

This is another long, tortuous process which coincidentally results in the spraying of chile bombs all over the kitchen as my desire to get the freaking job done drives more frantic work activity.

But finally, perfectly smooth, chile paste

By now the day is over, plus I have a crap load of this paste, more than I need for my condiments so the decision is to freeze it.

Producing Harissa and Sambal

Fast forward to this weekend

It is time to actually make the condiments

Out comes one of containers of chile paste

Let us start with...

HARISSA

Harissa is chile based condiment from North Africa

I have bought prepared versions but do not like them as much as the version I make 

I love this stuff. I use it on sandwiches and with eggs. It is good as an addition to soups and stews or with braised meats 

Start by toasting cumin and coriander seeds and then grind them to a powder

Next pound garlic with salt to a paste

Saute the garlic paste in olive oil

Add chile paste and the spice powder

Cook for five minutes

SAMBAL

This is a ubiquitous condiment found all over Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore

If you go online and search recipes, you will find there are hundreds of versions. This tells me I can be as creative as I like with mine. I use Sambal mostly for cooking in stir fries and especially with fried rice but also with any Asian dish I make as a condiment

First I get some Candlenuts. These were hand imported from Malaysia. They are to add texture (I think)

Next I make a paste of Southeast Asian aromatics

From to top and going clockwise there is tumeric, galangal, garlic, lemon grass and ginger

I freeze these roots and then just use a microplane grater when I need some

Next ingredient is Balacan

Belacan is a super funky shrimp paste from Malaysia (I brought two of them back from my first trip)

This stuff is intense. At 4 Ringgits or $1, I think I have a lifetime supply

Saute the belacan and the flavor paste

Add chile paste along with salt, sugar, tamarind and fish sauce to taste

In my case, my home grown chiles are very fruity and citrus flavored so I didn't add any tamarind

Voila (or the Malay equivalent)

I put my finished condiments in very small freezer containers to have through the year

Now with two more containers of basic chile paste I need to think about some other condiments to make. I probably should make some New Mexican Red Chile Sauce at least