Heat without sodium

Jorra

I am addicted to hot sauce. My two favorites are Frank's Red Hot and Sriracha Rooster Sauce. However, if you're a heat junkie like me, you know how much sodium is packed into a tiny bit of sauce. (290mg per tbsp in Sriracha!)

Any tips on getting my spicy fix without all this extra sodium?

cutmd

fresh habeneros, jalepenos or scotch bonnet peppers. Careful not to incorporate the seeds or it will be too hot. I love sriracha though and used it in my spaghetti tonight!

ETA: For a sauce you can soak cut peppers in vinegar or buy a store made version like this http://www.amazon.com/Trappeys-Peppers-Vinegar-4-5-Ounce-Bottles/dp/B0025UNVXQ

jimjamsjet

I'd keep the seeds in otherwise it isn't hot enough

significance

Sprinkle dried chilli flakes over your food, or spoon in a little fresh, ground chilli.

Pebble321

Make your own fresh chilli sauce - I'm addicted to my husband's recipe:

- fresh chillis (big handful of the little hot ones)
- fresh tomato (2 or 3)
- spring onion (2 or 3)
- parsley (half a bunch or so)
- lemon juice (juice of one lemon)
- olive oil (1 or 2 tablespoons)
- salt to taste (half a teaspoon should be plenty, or better still, leave it out altogether!)
- cracked black pepper

These are really rough guestimates of how much we use, it varies every time - we put in more tomato if the chillis are hotter, more lemon if it needs it etc.

Blend it all up until it is pretty fine and store it in the fridge. You might want to make a smaller quantity that this, as it will go mouldy eventually - which I take as a good sign that it is made of real food with no preservatives!

I use this in cooking (add in a spoonful with onions/garlic when you are cooking), in marinades, as a relish on top of steak or chicken, or best of all - a teaspoon of chilli inside half an avocado - as a fabulous addition to a meal!

I put the ingredients into the recipe section and came up with about 10 cals per teaspoon - you only need a little bit to give a lot of punch!

cutmd

I'd keep the seeds in otherwise it isn't hot enough

For the other peppers, not for scotch bonnet :noway:. That's the one i meant Maybe you haven't had it but one seed can ruin a whole dish!!!!!

wolfchild59

Chili powder, red pepper flake and cayenne. I use all three of those in almost everything I make except breakfast and then still use siracha, but just only about a teaspoon or less. With the other dry spice in there you don't need as much of the siracha. But my siracha lives on my stove right next to my chili powder cuz I got tired of going into the cabinet every single time for them. heh

And my sodium is typically between 1400-1600 each day (and I drink anywhere from 16 to 22 cups of water a day) so I don't really worry about extra sodium from the siracha.