How to make a chili paste yourself

You have just masses of chilies in the garden or on the balcony and want to preserve them? Then you should make a chili paste yourself! Here you can learn how it works and what you need to pay attention to.

Have you ever made chili paste? If you like spicy food, you'll love it!

You can season many recipes with it and bring that certain something into the dish. I use the paste for curries, stews, pasta, rice dishes - and actually for almost every recipe, because I like spicy food. And because the color is just awesome, right?

If you like your food fiery too, then you should try this simple tutorial. It's really not difficult.

Today I'll show you how to make your own chili paste and what spices you can vary the recipe with.

Why you should make chili paste yourself

You can buy chili paste, or you can easily make it yourself. I recommend the DIY version, because it tastes much better than the paste from the supermarket.

You decide which ingredients end up in the recipe and more importantly, which ones you can just leave out. I decided to omit sugar and replace it with honey. The chili paste gets a very special touch and is also much healthier.

Purchased sauces are also usually much Citric acid* and vinegar to increase the shelf life. However, the taste is not really a highlight.

With the hot paste you can preserve the pods from the garden. My balcony is bursting with chili peppers and I don't know where to put them. That's why I freeze some of the chili paste in ice cube molds and always have enough spiciness on hand.

If you fill the homemade chili paste in a jar and decorate it with a bow, you have a quite wonderful gift for barbecues, birthdays and all occasions where you do not appear empty-handed.

What you must know when making chili paste

There are a few basics you need to follow to make the paste successful. If you follow them, nothing will stand in the way of a fiery hot treat.

Work clean

In order for you to make the chili paste, you will need sterilized jars with screw tops. It is very important that you use them sterilize before filling and make sure that you don't give germs and bacteria a chance. Otherwise, the paste may start to mold.

How to prepare jars properly, you can read here: "This is the only way to properly sterilize jars and bottles".

Before you get started, you also need to thoroughly wash and clean the knife, board, and other work utensils.

Wear gloves to make chili paste yourself

Please be sure to put on gloves. Depending on the variety, it can be really painful otherwise. Chilies can continue to burn on your fingers and especially under your nails for a day. This can be very painful.

Wear the gloves from the moment you come into contact with the pods. At the latest when you cut them open.

Never get in your face and certainly not near your eyes - even if something is making you itch.

Do not smell the paste

I love smelling home cooked recipes. But please don't do that under any circumstances when you make chili paste yourself. It's so hot that it burns your eyes, makes you cough, and irritates your throat.

Even if it is tempting, please sniff it at the earliest when the paste is ready. Then tomato and paprika neutralize the spiciness a bit.

How to make chili salt yourself!

Washing utensils

When the paste is simmering, wash all utensils very thoroughly. To be on the safe side, put them in the dishwasher as well. You can never be too careful. And as already mentioned: Keep your fingers out of your face!

Remove the chili seeds

Do you have to remove the inner life of the pods or not? Opinions are divided on this point. Some say: Yes, absolutely. The others are convinced that you can save yourself this step.

Supposedly, the seeds of the pod bring a bitter taste to the paste. I have not noticed anything of this and always leave the seeds in the chilies. This saves a lot of steps and time.

Fingers burning? Wash your hands properly!

If your hands should burn from the chilies, then the sharp substance capsaicin from the pods is responsible for it. With normal water and soap the sharpness does not go off. But there is a good trick!

Grab a tablespoon of vegetable oil and rub it on your hands. Leave the oil on for about a minute and wash it off with dishwashing liquid. Repeat the process two to three times. You should be especially thorough with the nail bed.

You can prevent this if you wear gloves throughout!

What ingredients you need for the spicy paste

Let's take a quick look at the ingredients list. After all, you should know what you're going to eat later.

Chilies for the paste

Which variety is best to make a chili paste from it?

The answer is simple: any type of chili can be turned into hot paste. Just make sure that some varieties are hotter than others. You can adjust the amount in the recipe.

Fresh chili peppers are very healthy. If you make the paste yourself, you'll get a lot more of these nutrients into the jar. The small red peppers contain a large amount of vitamin B1, B6 and vitamin C. You will also find the minerals calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.

Capsaicin is responsible for the spiciness. This substance stimulates digestion, strengthens the immune system and improves blood circulation. In addition, foods with a lot of capsaicin are among the Foods that melt body fat.

Onion and garlic

Garlic and onion must not be missing in the spicy paste. You can use a little more or less. If you find fresh garlic difficult to tolerate, replace it with garlic powder or simply omit it.

If you don't plan to puree the paste later, you should press the cloves through a garlic press. The onion you chop then also particularly small.

Tomatoes and peppers

If you want to make your own chili paste, you'll need more than just chili peppers. Tomatoes and peppers take the heat a bit, provide a nice color and better taste.

I use red peppers because of the color and because the slight sweetness is a good complement to the spiciness. With tomatoes, I like to go for beef tomatoes because they are not as runny and contain more pulp. It makes the sauce a little thicker, kind of like ketchup.

Grow chilies? With this guide you can!

Balsamic for making chili paste yourself

Now we have sharpness, sweetness and salt. There is still a bit of acidity missing.

I use dark balsamic vinegar for this. You can also take white wine vinegar.

Attention to all who have a fructose intolerance. Balsamic vinegar contains a lot of fructose - replace it in such a case with another vinegar.

Honey and salt

Usually you take sugar for chili paste. I replace it with honey because it gives a better flavor. Alternatively you can also Agave syrup* use.

Salt rounds out the sauce and makes it really tasty.

This chili paste is

• prepared quite quickly,
• Very sharp,
• a great way to preserve chili,
• bottled and provided with a bow a great gift.

Fancy some chili oil? Try this recipe!

With what recipe you can make chili paste yourself

The chili peppers are in front of you and you're ready? Then let's get started right away. Here you'll find a very detailed tutorial for those who have never made chili paste themselves. If you've made chili sauces before and are just looking for inspiration, you'll find a quick recipe at the end of the post.

Here comes the long version with exact step-by-step instructions.

Place already before cooking sealable preserving jars* to the side. The paste is filled hot immediately after preparation.

Ingredients

• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 100 ml olive oil
• 100 g chili peppers - more if desired, depending on the variety and degree of heat
• 1 tomato
• 1 red bell bell pepper
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp honey
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Also: gloves, knife and board, pot, Blender*, medium sized jars with screw caps*.

1. prepare onion and garlic

Peel the onion and garlic cloves. Chop them with a sharp knife. If you don't want to puree the sauce later, I recommend pressing the garlic cloves through a garlic press.

If you want to use the Blender*, it is sufficient to roughly chop the onion and garlic.

Put them in a pot together with the olive oil and heat it.

I use a saucepan because it splashes less later when cooking and saves time cleaning.

2. chop the chillies

In the meantime, take care of the vegetables.

In order for the hot peppers to release their flavor into the paste, we need to chop them. Be sure to wear gloves for this. Otherwise, you will feel the sharpness under your nails tomorrow.

Once you've done that, move on to the tomatoes and peppers. Wash them well beforehand and then cut them into cubes.

3. make the chili paste yourself

In the meantime, the onion should be translucent. Add the chili, tomato and bell bell pepper. The base for your paste is now ready.

Stir the ingredients.

Put the lid on the pot and let the mix simmer for 10 minutes. As soon as it bubbles, turn down the temperature. Do not forget to stir in between.

Caution: The steam can be very sharp in the eyes. It is best to open a window or turn on the fume hood.

4. season the paste

After 10 minutes, the ingredients are cooked soft and ready to be processed. Add salt, honey and balsamic vinegar. Mix well again and taste the sauce.

Blend the paste until you have an even consistency.

5. fill the chili paste

Pour the hot paste into the prepared jars. Close them with the lid and let them cool. Now you can store the paste in the refrigerator.

How you can refine the chili paste

You are not quite convinced of the recipe? No problem, tastes are different. You can refine the sauce with many ingredients, try this:

• Mango - simply cook and puree with it
• Pineapple
• Orange juice - not too much or it will be runny
• Pepper
• Ginger
• Coriander
• Parsley
• Tomato paste
• Agave syrup*
• Smoke flavor

Help, the paste is too sharp - What now?

You made a mistake and got way too much chili? Then you can stretch the paste. It's best to boil it up again and add tomatoes and peppers until you're happy with the spiciness.

If you got very hot peppers, there can be 5-6 tomatoes and peppers. So it happened to me at my first attempt at least. The good thing about this little sharpness accident: All my friends were supplied with chili paste and for me was also still more than enough da😅.

What is the shelf life of the hot sauce?

A homemade chili paste does not contain preservatives. Therefore, its shelf life is limited. If you close the lid tightly and leave the paste unopened in the refrigerator, you can store it for about 3 to 4 weeks. Once the jar is open, a race against time begins. You should use up the paste in 7 days.

But there are two tricks to extend the shelf life.

1. Preserving: If you boil down foods like sauces, stews and co, you can keep them forever. Be careful not to confuse the two: Pouring hot into a jar is not the same as canning. If you want to know more about it, look here: "Canning in a pot - the right way to do it„
2. Freezing: You can also simply fill the finished paste into ice cube molds and thaw them according to your mood. You can also freeze the filled jars. Just make sure that the sauce has enough space to expand. Leave at least 3 - better 5 cm free to the beginning of the lid. The sauce will keep in the freezer for at least a year without losing flavor.

Basically, it is always worth using smaller jars. Once a jar is opened, you have to consume it quickly.

Our conclusion

Making chili paste yourself is anything but difficult. You can make the hot peppers thereby long durable. But please be careful when making and do not bring the sharpness in the eyes. Do not forget gloves, then nothing stands in the way of your undertaking.

Have fun making it and enjoy!

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