Why Does Everyone Love Extra Hot Chilli Sauce?

Extra hot chilli sauce has been popular with diners all over the world for as long as anyone can remember. But why do people seek to punish themselves with teary eyes and a zinging sensation in their mouths over and over again? What makes extra hot chilli sauce so enduring in our cuisine?

Where Chillies Come from

Contrary to popular belief, the chilli’s origins lie in South America and not Asia, but due to their fantastic popularity here in Asia, people often think they originated here. They were spread across Asia in the 1500s by Portuguese merchant ships that had trade routes all throughout Goa, Malacca, and Siam (now Thailand). The spicy fruit quickly found fame all across the Asian continent, where records of its existence date as far back as the 1600s in ancient recipe books. Within a short period of time, Asia quickly adopted chillies into hundreds of recipes all across the Asian continent.

Why We Love Chillies

People love how eating something spicy causes you to sweat profusely because, in many Asian cultures, people believe that sweating is the body’s way of getting rid of toxins. Other qualities of chillies includes their ability to slow down bacteria growth on cooked food which would otherwise spoil quickly in the tropical and humid climates common across Asia.

It also doesn’t hurt that compared to black pepper, chillies are far easier to cultivate. Its popularity also piggybacked on the prevalence of rice consumption in Asia, where it’s a staple food. Chillies became so popular partly because of their ability to lift the bland taste of rice. But that ability isn’t limited to just rice, as chillies have the uncanny ability to make pretty much anything taste better just by adding a little heat and spice to it.

Chillies in China, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand

China

The Chinese, especially those living in the particularly cold conditions in Sichuan, love having a spicy dish on a cold day. Combining dried chillies with hot oil, they were able to make the famous Sichuan chilli oil. After simmering the dried chillies in the hot oil for a few hours, the oil takes on the fragrance and taste. It can then be used in soups or as a dipping sauce to give a spicy kick that awakens the senses. 

Chillies are also particularly popular in Szechuan cuisine, where they are used liberally. They are usually used in a dish called Doubanjiang, where soybean paste is combined with a good amount of chilli creating a sauce that pairs well with vegetables and tofu. 

Malaysia and Singapore

The large Chinese and Malay communities created the sambal, which is a chilli-based sauce that, although varies from community to community, usually combines three main ingredients. Juvenile chillies that possess intense flavour are combined with lime and dried shrimp paste to produce a tangy and extremely spicy chilli sauce that’ll send your taste buds to the stratosphere if you’re not careful. 

Other milder forms of chilli sauce combine chillies with garlic and lime to produce a light watery sauce that pairs well with the famous Chinese chicken rice dish popular in both countries. 

Thailand

Thailand and chillies go hand in hand. Thais use raw chillies liberally in nearly all dishes, and if no chilli is present, it’s always available as a condiment to spice up whatever local dish you have in front of you. Thais have a variety of chilli sauces to choose from. Nam phrik phao (roasted chilli paste), nam phrik num (pounded grilled green chilli paste), and nam phrik kapi (chilli paste made with fermented shrimp paste) are just a few used regularly in Thai cuisine. The most famous of them all is the sriracha sauce which has found immense popularity around the world. However, sriracha sauce is especially popular in the US, where it first gained popularity. Although ironically, its popularity was actually brought on by a Vietnamese immigrant living in the states who used a modified Thai recipe consisting of vinegar, sugar, garlic, and Thai peppers. 

Flying Goose Sriracha Hot Chilli Sauce

The original Sriracha sauce is made from sun-ripened chillies using a traditional Thai recipe from the Si Racha district of Thailand. Flying Goose has a wide range of sriracha sauces for you to choose from, with more than 30 varieties to suit every taste and recipe. Our sriracha sauces are available in Australia, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Thailand, and the UK! Pick up a bottle of our extra hot chilli sauce today and find out what everyone is raving about.