First make the sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and heat until almost boiling. Then turn the heat down to low and have a taste to test hotness. Add more cayenne and Tabasco to “heat” it up to how you like it.

While the sauce is cooking, prepare the wings. Cut off tips and discard. Then cut the wings at the joint so you have two pieces. Salt the wings and let them stand for a while.

Heat the oil in a heavy fry pan, or wok, and fry the wings on medium heat until brown and cooked through.

Drain the wings to get rid of the oil and pour enough of the sauce to cover the wings.

Mix until the wings are well coated with the sauce and pour on to a platter and serve immediately with the chilled blue cheese dressing (see opposite).

Red hot chicken wings

These wings are the hottest thing to fly out of Buffalo

Blue cheese dressing

2 lb chicken wings

Salt

Oil for frying

2 cups canned tomato sauce

3 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp horseradish sauce

2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tbsp Tabasco

INgREDIENTS

FOR THE SAUCE

prep time30 mins

cooking time

45 mins

3332

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Put all ingredients in a blender and mix for a few seconds. Don’t overbeat the mixture.

If mixture gets too thin, thicken it up by adding a little more mayonnaise. Chill in fridge for half an hour.Serve in dipping bowls to accompany

the wings. Serve with celery sticks if you want to be traditional.

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6 oz blue cheese1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream1 tbsp worcestershire sauce1 tbsp dry sherry

A pinch of pepper

INDREDIENTS

Very Hot

Appetizers & snacks

77

chang Mai noodles

The Thai culture can be gentle but this noodle dish isn’t

prep time30 mins

cooking time

45 mins

INgREDIENTS4 tbsp red curry paste (see below)

2 tbsp curry powder

3 cups coconut milk

10 oz chicken, chopped (dark meat is best)

3 cups chicken stock

1 tbsp fish sauce1⁄2 lb egg noodles

1 cup shallots, chopped

1 cup pickled vegetables (available in jars from asian grocers)

3 green onions, chopped

A few sprigs of cilantro

1 lime, cut in wedges

Heat the oil in a wok and add red curry paste and curry powder. Heat for 2-3 minutes.

Add 1⁄2 cup coconut milk and the chicken. Continue to stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

Turn the heat down and add chicken stock, fish sauce, and rest of coconut milk until chicken is cooked.

While chicken is cooking, boil the noodles and drain.

Place noodles in a large bowl and when the chicken is cooked pour over the noodles.

Garnish with chopped shallots, pickled vegetables, spring onions, and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

A fresh papaya salad to accompany it would be ideal.

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Crush 4 tbsp dried red chiles in a mortar and then fry in 8 tbsp oil in a wok until moist and fragrant.

curry paste

76

mild spice

Noodles, rice & pasta

37 38

red chile with pork

An easy pork dish from Mexico with red chile sauce that can be made ahead

prep time30 mins

cooking time

45 mins

1 lb lean pork

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp salt

2 cups fresh red chile sauce (see over)

1⁄2 tsp oregano1⁄2 tsp cumin

1 clove garlic, crushed

5 or 6 sprigs of cilantro

oil for frying

INgREDIENTS Cut pork into 1-inch cubes and fry on medium heat until lightly browned.

Add flour and salt and stir until meat is coated.

Add chile sauce, crushed garlic, oregano, and cumin.

Cover and simmer for about 40 minutes.

Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or tortillas.

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Fresh Red Chile Sauce

This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week

prep time20 mins

cooking time25 mins

INDREDIENTS24 fresh red chiles

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, peeled

1 onion, sliced

1 tsp oregano1⁄2 cup water

1 tbsp oil

Remove stems, seeds, and veins of the fresh red chiles.

Put in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Remove chiles and put in a blender with the salt, garlic, onion, oregano, and some of the water and blend until it is reduced to a smooth paste.

Pour into a saucepan and add the rest of the water and oil. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. Cook until slightly thick but still fluid.

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Very Hot

Medium spice

Meat and poultry

A good choice for those who like the flavor and aroma of Habanero peppers but find them too hot. Aji Dulce has the same shape, size, color, and aroma as Habanero, but is sweet, spicy, and delicious, with only a trace of heat. The fruits are highly aromatic and the flavor is unusual and complex, with overtones of black pepper and cilantro, and undertones of other spicy flavors. The pods themselves are approximately 1 to 2 inches long. by 1 to 1 1/4 inches wide. The shape is tapering and the pods and mature from pale green to orange and then red.

Capsicum chinense ‘Ají Dulce’Scoville rating: 1–1,000

Capsicum chinense ‘Jacquin’ cv. Datil Scoville rating: 100,000-250,000

The datil was brought to the USA from the West Indies during the Colonial period (1565–1821), though there is a myth that Minorcans fleeing Spain brought it with them. However, it was Minorcans who gave it its name—“datil”, which means “date” in Catalan—after the date fruit which is native to Spain. The wrinkled, golden little peppers look somewhat like fresh dates before the dates are harvested.

an a–z of chiles13

Capsicum chinense ‘Jacquin’ cv. Habanero Scoville rating: 80,000-300,000

Habaneros used to hold the trophy for the world’s hottest chile, though now the naga family reign. The name means “from Havana” and they are especially widespread in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, just a short hop over the water from Cuba. Although near the top of the heat scale, they taste intensely fruity. Habaneros and Scotch bonnet chiles look and taste almost identical. Both are much loved all over Latin America, especially in the Caribbean.

Capsicum chinense Habanero ChocolateScoville rating: 800,000-1,000,000

Black Habanero is an alternative name often used to describe the dark brown variety of Habanero chillies. Tiny slivers can have a dramatic effect. Gourmets delight in its fiery heat and unusual flavor. They take much longer to grow than other Habanero chilli varieties but are considered to be worth the wait. In a dried form they can be preserved for long periods of time and can be reconstituted in water.

Capsicum chinense Habanero ChocolateScoville rating: 800,000-1,000,000

Also known as Suriname Yellow, this is a real firecracker, this is a pure heat hit. Very hot, and with little accompanying flavor, the Madame Jeanette chile is closely related to the Habanero chile and Scotch Bonnet. A Madame Jeanette is just as hot as a Habanero, but has a bit more of that typical dry aroma that gives Surinam dishes their characteristic and unique taste.

Capsicum chinense 14

Capsicum chinenseCapsicum chinense or “Chinese capsicum” is something of a misnomer since all capsica originate in the New World, not the Far East. Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, an Austrian botanist who saw the chiles in Central America, named the species erroneously in 1776, because he believed that they originated in China.

Capsicum chinense ‘Dorset Naga’ Scoville rating: 85,000-1,000,000

This explosively hot specimen is the current record holders for the world’s hottest chiles. The Dorset variety was cultivated by a couple of horticultural enthusiasts in Dorset, England, from a Bangladeshi variety. They are green or red, slightly wrinkled and cone-shaped, about 1 inch wide at the stem end and up to 31⁄2 inches long, tapering to a pointy tip. The flesh is very thin and despite their colossal heat, their flavor is also powerfully fruity.

Flavor aromatic, pungentPlant height 18–30 in (45–75cm)Fruit color at maturity matures from pale green through yellow & orange to redFruit shape taperedFruit length 1–2 in. (2.5–5cm)Fruit width at shoulder 1–1 1⁄4 in. (2.5–3cm)Fruit surface shallow wrinklesSeeds/fruit approx 15–20Alternatives habanero for flavor; poblanos for mildness

Uniquely flavored Aromatic, pungent Plant height 18–47 in (45–120cm)Fruit color at maturity redFruit shape conicalFruit length 2 1⁄2–3 1⁄2 in. (6–8.5cm)Fruit width at shoulder 1–1 1⁄4 in (2.5–3cm)Fruit surface rough, unevenSeeds/fruit approx. 20–35Alternatives habanero; Scotch bonnets

Uniquely flavored Aromatic, pungentPlant height 18–30 in (45–75cm)Fruit color at maturity Yellow green to golden yellowFruit shape elongated pointedFruit length 1⁄2–4 in. (1.5–10cm)Fruit width at shoulder 1–1 1⁄4 in (2.5–3cm)Fruit surface shallow wrinklesSeeds/fruit approx 15–20Alternatives habanero; Scotch bonnets

Flavor hot, dryPlant height 12-15 in (30-–45cm)Fruit color at maturity yellowFruit shape collapsed oblongFruit length 3–4 in. (10–12cm)Fruit width at shoulder 1 1⁄4-1 3⁄4 in. (3–4.5cm)Fruit surface smoothSeeds/fruit approx 10-20Alternatives habanero, scotch bonnet, Suriname orange or red

Flavor intensely fruityPlant height 18–47 in (45–120cm)Fruit color at maturity lime-green, Orange, or redFruit shape wavy lanternFruit length 2 1⁄2–3 1⁄2 in.(6–8.5cm)Fruit width at shoulder 1–1 1⁄4 in. (2.5–3cm)Fruit surface smoothSeeds/fruit approx 20–35Substitutes scotch bonnet; datil peppers

Flavor exotic and unusualPlant height 18–47 in. (45–120cm)Fruit color at maturity chocolate brownFruit shape shrunken lantern/heart-shapedFruit length 1 1⁄2–2 in. (4–5cm)Fruit width at shoulder 1 1⁄4-1 3⁄4 in. (3–4.5cm)Fruit surface wrinkledSeeds/fruit approx. 50–60Substitutes habanero, scotch bonnet, datil peppers