What Peppers and Salsas You Should Use Based on Cuisine

For foodies and travelers worldwide, dabbling in new cuisines is a highlight. Finding a favorite dish is often the challenge of it all, as each culture and cuisine offers distinct flair and flavor. Something every unique cuisine has in common, though, is its ability to capture the hearts and bellies of millions globally.

No matter your location, making an authentic recipe from another culture is difficult, as getting even one ingredient wrong can throw off the whole dish. However, every home chef has recipes of their own that are family traditions from their cultures. Here, we explore what peppers and salsas you should use based on cuisine and how salsa macha reigns supreme.

Creating Your Base

One of the most important factors in creating a mouthwatering sauce is your accessibility to fresh ingredients such as tomatoes and tomatillos. You can make a simple base by roasting, boiling, or blending your fresh ingredients. This mixture lasts a few days in the fridge, or you’re welcome to freeze it. If you’re looking to create depth and stand up to the intense crunch of morita pepper salsa macha, you can add garlic, onions, and sea salt.

Fresh Chilies in the Mexican Kitchen

Chilies pack a lot of natural flavors in one bite, so it’s best to keep it simple. Some fresh chilies work best for stuffing, fire-roasting, pickling, and making salsa verde. In a salsa verde, the flavors soften a touch with the addition of tomatillos, garlic, and onions. Fresh chilies are usable both raw and cooked, but pulling the seeds and membranes to reduce their heat is a personal preference based on the level of heat you’re willing to withstand.

An easy way to become familiar with fresh chilies is to blend them with water and sea salt and then add tomatillos as a balancer. It’s advisable to wait to try alternative seasonings until you’re able to appreciate chilies’ natural flavors.

Poblanos and Oaxacan Variations

Poblano and Anaheim peppers are excellent choices for homemade chili strips or stuffed peppers, and they’re easy to find in the right locations. Namely, cities that contain large populations of Mexican cultures have a variety of markets that meet the needs of many cuisines. Places such as Los Angeles have markets that sell chilacas, which are similar to poblanos but with more stretch and a stronger flavor. Other possibilities include the chili de agua, one of the spiciest peppers for stuffing, which is often used for Oaxacan cuisines.

Jalapeño and Serrano

Two of the most standard chilies to add flavor and spice to a salsa verde are jalapeños and serranos. You can find these two peppers anywhere. You can roast, grill, boil, or fry them or use them raw; any of these methods will deliver varying levels of heat and texture within a salsa. It’s important to note that the heat levels of these peppers are often inconsistent.

Chili de Arbol and Habanero

Some people seek a fiery sweat when they choose their peppers, and chilies de arbol and green habaneros are their best bets. The cooking techniques you can use for jalapeños and serranos also apply to habaneros. To retain as much of their natural color as possible, you can blend them with carrots. Use them to increase the heat levels of other salsas or cook them with limes, onions, and varying spices.

Working With Dried Chilies

Ancho chilies and guajillo chilies are two of the most widely used dried chilies. Because of their mild nature, you can use them in several things: rubs, pastes, stews, and sauces. They make excellent marinades for al pastor and create the perfect base for red enchiladas and red chilaquiles.

Some other dried chilies you can find at the market are California and Colorado chilies, which are the best for making red northern-Mexican strews. A chipotle adds deep, smoky flavors and pairs well with chili de arbol’s robust heat. Chilies are incredible for color, spice, and added flavor, and they create vibrant densities in flavors, no matter the combination.

Chili Availability

In large cities with vast selections of different cuisines, you’re likely to find more of the niche chilies from around the globe. Puya chilies, morita chilies, pequin chilies, pasilla chilies, and the round cascabel chili are all accessible in Latinx and Mexican markets. These are excellent for salsa macha and other authentic Mexican recipes, and they blend well with other dried chilies. If you stumble upon manzano chilies in your cultural markets, you can pickle them or add them to pico de gallo.

It’s best to store your dried chilies in the freezer when you bring them home, as they can contain larvae or other pests. Be sure to wash them off before use if you plan to use them immediately.

Chili Powders and Pastes

Creating a chili powder or paste preserves your dried chilies for a later date. One of the biggest blessings of having a homemade chili powder or paste on hand is that a great salsa is only a few minutes away. The Oaxaca culture refers to chili paste as chintestle, and in Mexican cuisine, people store paste to make salsa with fresh tomatoes and tomatillos.

Mexican Cuisine at Home

There are 32 provincial styles in Mexican cuisine, each with differing chilies and dishes. In authentic Sonoran cuisine, for example, chile Colorado en pure is a salsa made with salt, onion, garlic, oregano, and beef stock. This makes an excellent base for chile con carne, enchiladas, and tamales rojos. In some regions, people add flour to thicken the base when a dish calls for increased density in the salsa.

So if you’re working from regional recipes, you’re free to use the chilies that are handy to you and to substitute when necessary. You can bring Mexican dishes to life with some basic pepper knowledge and preservation styles. Things such as chilaquiles rojos, enchiladas rojas, and huevos rancheros made with authentically cooked peppers make great beginner dishes.

When it comes to what peppers and salsas you should use based on cuisine, consider the level of heat you prefer and the storage methods. It’s essential to remember that a heat application of any kind can alter a pepper’s heat level, and this is the best way to change the depth of flavor and deliver the flavors you’re looking for.