Jolokimchi Chili Sauce

This is my favorite self made chili sauce during the hot summer days. A mixture of Kimchi and Bhut Jolokia chili peppers.The ingredients get fermented for 3-7 days to develop a bouquet of flavours. To boost the fermentation and to add kimchi flavour I use a dried kimchi chip. You can use some sauerkraut or fresh Kimchi as a starter.

Ingredients:

• 100grams Bhut Jolokia chili peppers
• 50grams ginger root
• 100grams celery
• 5grams salt
• 1 walnut
• 3 garlic clove
• 1 dried tomato
• 1 dried porcino
• 1 flake kimchi (optional)
• 1 splash of vinegar
• ¹/₄ of a lemon

Equipment:

• kitchen scale
• hand blender
• sauce bottles
• canning funnel
• preserving jar (with a smaller lid or generally any fermentation container)

First you have to clean and then desinfect the canning jar with hot water. Remove the rind from the ginger root and cut into smaller pieces. No need to grate because the hand blender will do that later.

Be very careful when you cut the Bhut Jolokia chili peppers. Use disposable gloves and protective glasses.

I removed the seeds because I dont like the bitter taste when they go through the blender.

Fill the peppers into the canning jar or your fermentation container.

Add the ginger root.

Add the walnut and the garlic.

Add the porcino.

Add the dried tomato.

Add the lemon piece.

Add the celery.

Add the kimchi chip or whatever you want to use as a starter.

Put a smaller lid on top and fill with a brine of 250ml water and 5grams salt. Don't let any food float above the lid, anything that is not covered by the brine will mould.

If you used a starter for fermentation then after 3 days you should already see lots of bubbles, if not you might have to wait 7 days. Take all the food out of the container into a glass for your hand blender. I prefer to mix the food without the brine to have less trouble.

Put the bottles into a big bowl with boiling water and desinfect them. Then let them dry on a kitchen towel.

After you blended the chili and all other foods, you can now pour back the brine and some vinegar to season to taste. The latter to also stop the fermentation and improve shelf life.

Fill the bottles with a funnel. Use within 3 months and if you open a bottle within 7 days. If you want to improve the shelf life even more then you should cook the mix for at least 30 minutes before bottling. This sauce is great with everything for BBQ or just hot spicy food.

Enjoy!