It seems like every country globally has its signature hot sauce, and that’s precisely what ajilimojili is. It’s Puerto Rico’s answer to the hot sauce. It’s loaded with spice, garlic and acid.
You can use it in the same way you’d use other hot sauces. It’s not the spiciest hot sauce you’ll ever use, but it has incredible balance with lots of garlic, some sharpness from lime juice and some sweetness from bell peppers.
What’s In Ajilimojili?
You’ll obviously need chillies to make a meaningful hot sauce (although not as much as you may think). There are a few other key components to a good ajilimojili though.
- 1 Red Chilli: Obviously! You only need 1 red chilli for this, sliced up. But keep those seeds in there otherwise you’ll have a fairly bland sauce.
- 2 Red Bell Peppers: Red peppers give the sauce both sweetness but also a bright orange/red colours.
- 4 Garlic Cloves: You want to be able to taste the garlic so use 4 cloves for proper punch of flavour.
- 5 tbsp Lime Juice: All hot sauces need contrast and lime does that perfectly without ruining the flavour.
- Pinch Coriander Leaves: You don’t want coriander to be the dominant flavour. It should be there to add a touch of fresh.
- 100ml Olive Oil: You’ll need around 100ml of oil but this all comes down to how thick you want it so adjust accordingly.
Substitutes and Tweaks
Add a touch of sweetness to the hot sauce by adding a spoonful of honey or agave syrup, which will balance out the heat.
Give it a warming, earthy undertone by adding a teaspoon of ground cumin to the blender. You could also use ground coriander for a citrus note.
Thicken the sauce up by adding in a handful of breadcrumbs or a few toasted almonds.
Use roasted or black garlic to give the sauce a more subtle garlic flavour with a lot more sweetness.
How to Make Ajilimojili
Step 1: Tip all of the ingredients (besides the olive oil) into a blender and season liberally. You then need to whizz this up until you have a thick paste. If you have lots of time on your hands then you can do this in a massive pestle and mortar – but I’d always recommend a blender.
Step 2: Slowly drizzle in the oil as the blender continues to run. This will ensure everything is fully incorporated and also gives you to the chance to stop loosening the sauce once it is at a consistency you’re happy with.
Ajilimojili Recipe
Course: SidesCuisine: Puerto RicanDifficulty: Easy10
servings10
minutes0
minutes10
minutesYou’ll Find Yourself Drizzling this Zesty Puerto Rican Hot Sauce on Everything!
Ingredients
1 1 Red Chilli, Sliced
2 2 Red Bell Peppers, Chopped
4 4 Garlic Cloves
5 tbsp 5 Lime Juice
Pinch Pinch Coriander Leaves
100 ml 100 Olive Oil
Salt
Black Pepper
Directions
- Add the red chilli, peppers, garlic, coriander and lime juice to a blender with a pinch of salt and pepper and blitz until the ingredients come together in a paste. You could also do this in a pestle and mortar.
- Slowly drizzle in the olive oil until the ajilimojili becomes a sauce. Taste the sauce and add more salt, pepper or lime juice accordingly.