Hot sauce is one of those things that when you realize just how easy it is to make it, you instantly start thinking about all the money you could have saved instead of buying preservative-filled, store-bought versions. I adapted this hot sauce from an Emril Lagasse recipe. For my hot sauce, I used those tiny, fiery-hot Birds Eye Thai chilies. They are about 2-3” long and tapered at their ends. They are small but mighty and pack an intense amount of heat, as smaller chilies typically do. You’ll want to be sure to open a window to allow for good ventilation.

The vinegar acts as a natural preservative and helps to keep the hot sauce for up to a month after you prepare it. And I also recommend using coconut oil as an extra precautionary measure, since the Lauric acids in coconut oil are proven to be antimicrobial and kill bacteria, fungus and viruses.

Naturally, if you want less intense heat, you can discard a few of the seeds prior to cooking. However, as a friend of mine described, the heat hits the front of the tongue instead of the back of the throat, which I find has gentler warmth and intensity.

Fiery Hot Sauce

Ingredients

• 25 -30 small Thai chilies, washed, stems removed and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, cut into thin half-moon rounds
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons coconut oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white vinegar

Instructions

1. Firstly, open a window and make sure the kitchen is well ventilated.
2. In a small saucepan over medium heat add the oil, onions and garlic. Continue to cook until the onions become slightly translucent, about 5 minutes.
3. Next, add the chilies and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
4. Then, add the water to the pan and cook until most of the water has evaporated, about an additional 15 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the burner, turn off the heat and allow the mixture to cool completely.
6. Once the chili mixture has cooled, place it into a blender. Begin blending the mixture and slowly add the vinegar through the feed tube, scraping down the sides if necessary.
7. Once the mixture is blended, store the sauce in an airtight glass container. Alternatively, you can strain the mixture and discard the seeds and pulp. Allow the sauce to refrigerate for 1 week before using. Unstrained sauce should keep for about three weeks thereafter and strained sauce may keep up to a month. Keep the sauce refrigerated.