Top 7 Best Dishes To Combine With Smoked Chili Sauce

From East to West, chili sauce can be found in a wide range of cuisines. Chili sauce is a favorite sauce for many people because of its spicy taste, which helps stimulate the taste buds and enhance the flavor of the dish paired with it. Its main ingredient is chili, which is a native plant species on the American continent that was then brought around the world. This is a versatile sauce that can be utilized as a condiment as well as a topping or dipping sauce.

Some fun facts about chili sauce

The origin of chili

The main ingredient of chili sauce has an interesting backstory that not everyone is aware of. Chili and its culinary applications, to name a few, can be found in cuisines ranging from Asia to Europe. You've probably heard of many dishes with chili as the essential ingredient, such as India's famous spicy curries, Thailand's hot and sour tom yum paste, the Sriracha available in most US states, Spain's salsa roja, Chinese chili oil, and Vietnamese sate sauce. 

Perhaps, as a result, some people mistakenly believe that chili peppers are widely available globally in the first place. However, the truth is that chili peppers are native to the Americas and never appeared on any other continent until they were carried around the world by Portuguese merchant ships. And, as you may recall, chili peppers, along with corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and cocoas, are considered New World crops.

The spread of chili took place around the 15th and 16th centuries, when Western European ships roamed all around the world. Chili has a spicy flavor that can stimulate taste buds effectively, is easy to grow, and is less expensive than peppercorns. As a result, the spicy, berry-like fruit has successfully blended into the cultures it has visited, significantly improving the flavor of the local cuisine.

Ingredients and types of chili sauce

Chilies are the main ingredient in chili sauce and come with water, salt, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and others. Each region or country has its own hot sauce, made with the same ingredients as listed above and indigenous herbs. Furthermore, chili pepper varieties vary greatly from region to region. Around the world, there are approximately 4000 known varieties of chili. Some examples include Trinidad Moruga chili, Carolina Reaper, Tabasco, Jalapeño, bell peppers, and others. All have a slight difference in flavor (which may be overshadowed by their own spiciness) and a wide range of spicy levels (ranked by the Scoville Heat Unit).

There are numerous methods for preparing chili for sauce. Some sauces require fresh chili, while others use dried chili, ground chili powder, fermented chili, and so on. They are usually pureed or finely minced and mixed with other ingredients for a spicy and more flavorful profile. 

In addition, there are hundreds of delicious hot chili sauces that have not been discovered yet. Although these sorts are not as popular as those manufactured by well-known chili sauce producers, they have an appealing taste and might be regarded as "hidden gems" that have yet to be found and are waiting to be.

The smoked chili sauce from Saigon Charlie's is one of them. Saigon Charlie's smoked chili sauce, handmade from fresh chili peppers and local ingredients according to the hundred-year-old family recipe, has been on its way to spreading that delicious taste even further so that everyone can enjoy it. And thanks to this, you will probably realize that chili sauces made by Vietnamese stand inferior to none.

7 dishes that pair perfectly with smoked chili sauce:

It is not by chance that chili sauce is one of the most enjoyed sauces. The spiciness of this delicious sauce does wonders to stimulate appetite, make food more mouth-watering, and aid digestion. 

There are no gourmets or spicy lovers who do not know smoked chili sauce. It does not appeal to everyone right away. But once you've eaten it two or three times, you'll become "addicted" to the delicate, spicy, deep flavor of this chili sauce, and even in Vietnam, you can easily experience this smoked chili sauce as well with Saigon Charlie's.

Here are some suggestions for dishes that are suitable for smoked chili sauce. CHUS hopes you will have a wonderful meal with friends and family with a delicious, authentic chili sauce.

1. Beefsteak

A delicious beef steak dish would be incomplete without a tasty, authentic sauce. Common steak sauces include peppercorn sauce, chimichurri, mushroom sauce, wine sauce, and others. Hot chili sauce is a less common option, but a good smoked chili sauce will not disappoint. 

You can try beefsteak with Saigon Sweet'N'Spicy Smoked Chili Sauce. The fragrant aroma of smoked fresh chili combined with spices will produce a very harmonious dipping sauce, adding a nice, delicate spiciness that doesn't overpower the rich flavor of your fine steak cut.

2. BBQ

After mentioning beef steaks, barbecue should be next on the list, as they are both known as juicy, delicious proteins! Chicken, fish, grilled ribs, seafood, and even grilled vegetables will become so much more delicious when dipped with BBQ sauce or chili sauce, which are the top choices of many people.

3. Tonkatsu and Tempura

Tonkatsu is a famous Japanese deep-fried pork cutlet. Meanwhile, tempura is a type of deep-fried, breaded vegetable or seafood. These Japanese dishes are all very suitable to be served with chili sauce. All of these Japanese dishes are excellent with chili sauce. In addition, if you want a more sweet and sour flavor in your dipping sauce, add a little ketchup.

4. Vietnamese Pho bo 

When it comes to Vietnamese cuisine, Pho is a must-try. This rich, flavorful soup dish is often served with squeezed lime juice, herbs, hoisin sauce, and spicy chili sauce. The reason that many Vietnamese people love pho is not only because it's nutritious and delicious, but also for another reason! As the lime juice and sauces are added, each person's bowl of pho has a slightly different flavor, with its own signature. Don't worry about offending the chef because they won't be, and they always serve those additional condiments for you nonetheless.

In particular, add a little Hanoi Heat smoked chili sauce to the bowl of pho; your meal will surely be full-flavored.

5. Shakshuka

This is a traditional dish from North Africa. This poached egg in tomato sauce is often seasoned with spices such as garlic, pepper, onion, cumin, etc. Traditional shakshuka may be non-spicy; or mildly spicy if cayenne peppers are added. However, those who like to eat spicy food can still add hot chili sauce to the tomato sauce while cooking to stimulate the taste even more.

And if you are a fan of spicy food, try adding some Hue Way Hot Smoked Chili Sauce to this dish. You will surely fall in love with it.

6. French fries 

It would be a big loss to mention chili sauce without making reference to French fries. This crispy snack will be quite bland if eaten alone. Therefore, a delicious ketchup or chili sauce will be a great addition to make friend gatherings more enjoyable and joyful.

7. Scrambled egg

This extremely simple and easy dish is loved by many people. Adding a little spice to your eggs will help stimulate your taste buds as well as help you digest better!

In CHUS's experience, you can eat scrambled eggs with any kind of smoked chili sauce from Saigon Charlie's, which is also very good. 

8. And more!

Don't forget that in addition to using chili sauce for dipping or adding to dishes, you can also completely use it as a condiment. Pork, chicken, or seafood dishes marinated in a hot chili sauce, harmoniously spiced with garlic, rosemary, etc., and then fried or grilled, will create a wonderfully delicious dish for the whole family. 

When it comes to cuisines and culinary, there are no boundaries. There are still many dishes around the world that are extremely suitable for this versatile sauce, so feel free to experiment and be creative to see what it goes well with!