My Mother's Chilli Sauce
An Original Recipe by My Mother
Makes 4-6 small jars
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
- 1kg/2.2lbs. large red chillies (small Thai chillies will be too hot for this sauce)
- 16 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1 inch cube of shrimp paste
- 10-12 tablespoons brown sugar (to taste)
- 2-3 teaspoons salt
Step 1 - Wear latex gloves (trust me, I even wore two pairs just in case!). Wash and slice the chillies in half lengthways. Remove the seeds and the tops from the chillies (this is where you may want to team up with someone because there are a lot of chillies!). Roughly chop the deseeded chillies.
Step 2 - Place the chillies in the food processor along with the garlic. Blend until you get a fine paste. It may take a while - it took just over 5 minutes in the food processor that we used.
Step 3 - Heat the oil in a wok and place on medium high. The smell of chilli goes everywhere and it can be pungent so it's best to open the windows as it affects some people more than others. Fry the shrimp paste, pressing down and making sure that it cooks down and caramelises. Add the brown sugar, salt, chilli and garlic paste and fry for 5 minutes. Place in sterilised jars.