Chile Pepper Water

Go to any diner, Hawaiian food restaurant, or plate lunch stand in Hawaii, and along with the ketchup, mustard, shoyu (soy sauce), and Worcestershire sauce you’ll also find chili pepper water. Not “sauce,” “water.” You’ll recognize it by it’s pinkish-orange-y hue, and the whole chilis and sliced garlic suspended in it.

Like a distant island cousin of Crystal or Tabasco sauce, chili pepper water is a fiery brine used in Hawaii to add a spicy kick to rice, eggs, spaghetti, fried foods, Bloody Marys—just about anything. In fact, this weekend I made some beef stew and rice for dinner, and it was crying out for a splash or three of chili pepper water to go with it.

You can make chili pepper water a lot easier than you can make your own Tabasco or Sriracha sauce, and I think it’s equally delicious. In Hawaii chili pepper water is made with plump, wrinkly, Hawaiian chili peppers. The closest approximation for those outside of the islands would be small, red Thai chilies or any Asian red chili pepper. (Don’t use jalapeños or serranos.).

Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water

Once made, let sit over night to develop flavors. Keep refrigerated.

8-10 Hawaiian red chili peppers
2 teaspoons white vinegar
2 garlic clove, sliced
2 quarter-sized slices fresh ginger, bruised (optional)
1-2 teaspoons sea or kosher salt
2 cups hot water (not boiling)

Place all ingredients into a slightly larger than pint-sized glass jar or bottle. Pour hot water over. Cap when cooled and store in refrigerator.

Use as you food any hot sauce.

Fragrant, fiery chile-pepper water is an essential condiment on the Hawaiian table, where a few drops of the stuff transforms even stodgy cutlets and lumpen beef stews into something almost magical.

Active time: 10 min Start to finish: 45 min

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Adapted from Alan Wong’s Restaurant, Honolulu, HI

1/2 garlic clove, minced
2 fresh red Hawaiian or serrano chiles, halved and seeded
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup plus 1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Blend garlic, chiles, ginger, a pinch of salt, 1/3 cup water, and vinegar in blender until smooth. Bring remaining 1 1/4 cups water to a boil. Then add chile mixture and bring to a boil. Cool completely. (Keeps, covered and chilled, 1 month.)

Note: this is a wonderful condiment to use on salads, fish and meat.
Yield: 2 cups2 1/2 cups water

1 clove garlic
1 serrano chile pepper, seeds removed
1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed
1 habanero pepper, seeds removed
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely minced
2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Combine 1/2 cup of water, the garlic, and the peppers in a blender. Turn your head away from the blender, and stand back from it to protect your eyes and nose from the fumes. Blend the ingredients together over medium speed until they form a smooth paste. Reserved.

In a medium saucepot, bring the remaining water to a boil. Add the reserved paste, along with the white wine vinegar, fresh ginger and kosher salt. Whisk vigorously to thoroughly incorporate the ingredients. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove it from the heat, and allow it to cool to room temperature.