Chile de arbol salsa (mexican chili oil)

This entry is also available in: Español

Chile de arbol salsa is a mexican chili oil very popular and easy to make. This sauce is extra spicy and the flavour is intense and fragrant.

The ingredients are simple and easy to find everywhere.

My grandma Julia used to make this mexican chili oil in a molcajete (mortar). She will fry all ingredients in an enamel saucepan in the fogón (corner-set fireplace). Then she will pestle everything slowly, until a thick and extremely spicy sauce come out.

My mother liked to eat this sauce with almost everything! With fried eggs and red rice, with refried beans, with pozole blanco. She really loved this sauce and it reminds me of her so much.

Differences between Mexican chili oil and salsa macha

Even though it can recall a lot of salsa macha, true is there are some differences between that sauce and this mexican chili oil.

Salsa macha is made using chile morita or chipotle, since those two are pretty common in the State where salsa macha is from. Also, the recipe uses peanuts, which I didn’t add to this chile de arbol salsa.

Because of that and because I like to respect my own traditions, I didn’t call this recipe after the famous salsa. I promise I’ll post a recipe for that sauce; but for now, I’ll just leave you this family recipe as my grandma used to make it.

Ingredients

CHILE DE ÁRBOL. This is the main ingredient but it can also be substituted with other types of chillies.

SESAME SEEDS. Helps to give some texture to the sauce and to balance spiciness.

GARLIC. Be very careful when frying the garlic. If you burn it will become bitter and spoil the recipe.

VINAGER. Just a little bit. It doesn’t have to taste or smell sour, you just need it for preserving the sauce.

OIL. A type that doesn’t compromise the sauce’s flavour. So avoid strong oil like extravirgin olive oil, coconut oil, etc.

chile de arbol substitute

So, in case you want to make this sauce and you can’t find chile de árbol. Here are a few options:

• Dry chinese or thai chillies.
• Dried serrano.
• Red dry new mexican chiles.
• Chillies Tepin/Piquin
• Cayenne red hot chillies
• Hot pepper flakes

Step by Step Recipe

Remove the stems of chilli peppers. Peel the garlic and thinly slice it. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan put half a cup of oil and heat over low heat. Fry the garlic paying attention that the heat is not too high or it could burn the garlic and make it bitter.

The garlic should be evenly golden so frying for a minute will be enough. Keep always the heat controlled and mix constantly. Place in a blender together with the oil you used for frying.

Add another half a cup of oil to the saucepan and heat over low heat. Fry the chilies for a minute until crispy. Pay attention since the chilies should not be burned so it is important to keep the heat low and mix constantly.

Place them in the blender together with the oil you used for frying.

Add to the blender the sesame seeds, salt, and a tablespoon of vinegar.

Blend from 2 to 4 minutes depending on how you’ll like the consistency of the chile de arbol sauce.

How to Store

Pour chile de arbol salsa into a jar and add a good drizzle of oil on top. This will prevent the sauce from going bad and will last for about 4-5 weeks stored in the refrigerator.

If you want to keep the sauce in the kitchen just make sure is not near to the stove or oven, place the jar in a coolest place in your pantry and keep the sauce always covered with oil. Outside the fridge the sauce last for about 5-6 days.

Chile de arbol salsa last for months if preserved in sterilized jars. If you don’t know how to prepare jars for preserving food I’d recommend reading this article.