Himalayan Chile Sauce

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From one of my far-flung writers, Linda Lynton, this recipe is a basic 
sauce from northern India and Nepal. She noted: “Although this specific 
recipe was given to me by a Patna housewife, some peasants originating 
from a remote Himalayan village in Central Nepal and housewives from an 
equally remote village in North Bihar gave us the same recipe.” Use it 
as a topping for chicken, fish, or vegetables.

Ingredients

 

1 pound fresh green chiles, such as serranos or jalapeños, seeds and 
stems removed,
4 small potatoes, peeled and boiled
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
Water as needed

Instructions

 

Combine all ingredients in batches in a blender and process to a fine 
puree, using water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Transplanted Sriracha Sauce

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A table condiment to similar in appearance to ketchup–but much more
pungent–sriracha sauce is named after a seaside town in Thailand.
Increasingly popular, this sauce is found on the tables of Thai and
Vietnamese restaurants all over North America. Fresh red chiles are the
key to the flavor of this recipe.

Ingredients

1 pound fresh red serrano, cayenne, Thai, or chile de arbol chiles,
stems removed
2 1/2 cups rice vinegar (substitute white distilled vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

Remove the stems from the chiles. Place the chiles and vinegar in a
saucepan and heat to boiling. Turn off the heat and add the sugar and
salt and stir until dissolved. Place the saucepan contents in a food
processor or blender and puree until a smooth thin-paste consistency.
Add additional rice vinegar if the mixture is too thick. Allow the
mixture to steep for several hours, place in glass containers, and
refrigerate. The consistency should be slightly thinner than ketchup.
Or, strain the sauce through sieve and discard the solids for a smooth,
seedless consistency.

Ngapi Ye (Hot Burmese Anchovy Sauce)

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This highly aromatic Burmese sauce is commonly used to heat up Southeast
Asian curries. Shrimp or prawn paste may be substituted for the
fermented dried fish if you can’t find it at the Asian market. In a
pinch, use canned anchovy fillets.

Ingredients

2 cups fermented dried fish or anchovies
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup shrimp powder (available in Asian markets)
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 tablespoons lime juice
6 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

In a saucepan, bring the fish and water to a boil, then reduce the heat,
simmer for five minutes, and mash the fish. Remove from the heat and
when the mixture cools, add the remaining ingredients and stir well.

Salsa all’Arrabiata (Enraged Sauce)

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This recipe is from Giuliano Bugialli as profiled by Nancy Gerlach, who 
met him in Rome. She commented: “This in an all-purpose sauce that can 
be used on a variety of pastas. To really 'enrage' the sauce, replace 
the crushed New Mexican chile with chiltepíns or piquin chiles.”

Ingredients

3 pounds fresh Roma or plum tomatoes, cut in half or substitute 1 
16-ounce can of peeled Italian tomatoes
2 teaspoons crushed red New Mexican chile
3 large cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or oregano

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Place the cut tomatoes side down on a cookie pan and bake in the oven 
for 10 minutes or until they are soft. Puree the tomatoes, place in a 
saucepan, and simmer.
In a large skillet, saute the chile and garlic in the oil until the 
garlic is soft.
Add the chile mixture and sugar to the tomatoes. Season with the black 
pepper and salt and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens.
Remove from the heat and stir in the fresh herbs.

Salsa Amatriciana (Spicy Amatrice Sauce)

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From the Sabine town of Amatrice comes this simple but great pasta 
sauce. Traditionally, it is served over bucatini, a spaghetti-like pasta 
that has a hole in it, like a straw. It is then sprinkled with grated 
pecorino romano cheese.

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil
1 pound pancetta or smoked bacon, chopped
2 onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 small, hot red chiles, such as santaka, Thai, or piquin, crushed into 
a coarse powder
2 28-ounce cans Italian plum tomatoes, drained, 1 cup juice reserved
Cayenne powder to taste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan, add the pancetta and cook over medium 
heat until browned, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally to brown the 
pancetta evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. 
Remove all but 1/2 cup of the remaining fat.
Add the onions and saute until golden, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic 
and crushed chiles and saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and mash 
them with a spoon. Increase the heat, add the reserved tomato juice and 
the pancetta, and boil until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes.
Taste for heat and seasonings and adjust with cayenne, salt, and pepper.