I can't find whole dried chipotle and ancho chiles in my supermarket

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estherdragonbat
estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
edited December 2018 in Recipes
I can get the powders in my spice aisle and found the substitution ratios online (1/2 tsp chipotle powder to the chipotle chili, 1 tbsp ancho powder to the ancho chili). I'm making "Seitan with ancho-chipotle sauce". Since I'm not using the actual chiles, should I add green or red bell peppers to bulk up the sauce, or just leave it at the powder?

The recipe involves sauteing onion and carrot, adding garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, broth and the chiles, then blending it all until smooth.

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  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
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    Personally I wouldn't add bell peppers because they will make the sauce sweeter, and dried chiles wouldn't add that much volume anyway unless the recipe calls for a lot of them.

    What about canned chiles? I usually buy canned chipotle chiles in ancho sauce for these types of recipes. They of coures will add more moisture to the recipe since they aren't dried, but they taste really good.
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    I wouldn't use bell peppers - they're very different and as the person above me said, dried peppers add next to no volume. In the future I'd go to a Latin American grocery store, though I can also easily find them at the Lebanese store I go to on a regular basis (among other places). Assuming you're still in Toronto, I would be shocked if you couldn't find them locally.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,876 Member
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    I live in New Mexico and regularly cook with chiles...for something like this type of sauce, I would always just use the powder rather than reconstituting dried chiles and then blending them. I know some people here who make their red chile sauce that way, but most native New Mexicans I know just use the powder.

    Don't add bell peppers...you would be getting a completely different flavor component. Using dried chile pods vs. powder doesn't really add bulk to the sauce...it comes out pretty much the same.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    aokoye wrote: »
    I wouldn't use bell peppers - they're very different and as the person above me said, dried peppers add next to no volume. In the future I'd go to a Latin American grocery store, though I can also easily find them at the Lebanese store I go to on a regular basis (among other places). Assuming you're still in Toronto, I would be shocked if you couldn't find them locally.

    Well, not in my area. I'm also strictly kosher and most canned or dried produce requires kosher certification (something about how some preservatives may be insect-derived or the drying oven being used for meat as well; I'm not sure the reason, but finding them with the certification is a problem.)
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    puffbrat wrote: »
    Personally I wouldn't add bell peppers because they will make the sauce sweeter, and dried chiles wouldn't add that much volume anyway unless the recipe calls for a lot of them.

    What about canned chiles? I usually buy canned chipotle chiles in ancho sauce for these types of recipes. They of coures will add more moisture to the recipe since they aren't dried, but they taste really good.

    Thanks! I have canned chipotles. Anchos are a different story.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    I live in New Mexico and regularly cook with chiles...for something like this type of sauce, I would always just use the powder rather than reconstituting dried chiles and then blending them. I know some people here who make their red chile sauce that way, but most native New Mexicans I know just use the powder.

    Don't add bell peppers...you would be getting a completely different flavor component. Using dried chile pods vs. powder doesn't really add bulk to the sauce...it comes out pretty much the same.

    Thank you!
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
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    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    aokoye wrote: »
    I wouldn't use bell peppers - they're very different and as the person above me said, dried peppers add next to no volume. In the future I'd go to a Latin American grocery store, though I can also easily find them at the Lebanese store I go to on a regular basis (among other places). Assuming you're still in Toronto, I would be shocked if you couldn't find them locally.

    Well, not in my area. I'm also strictly kosher and most canned or dried produce requires kosher certification (something about how some preservatives may be insect-derived or the drying oven being used for meat as well; I'm not sure the reason, but finding them with the certification is a problem.)

    Oh duh I knew that (this is what I get for posting before my breakfast). You can find dried chilies with a hechsher where I live (Portland, Oregon), but I'm not sure how easy it would be in Toronto. The India Tree brand is what easy enough for me to find, but it looks like they don't have any stores in toronto (they do outside of the city though - though I don't know if it'd be worth it).
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
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    Toronto gets in a lot more than it used to, and there are things I learned to make on my own (seitan, tamarind concentrate), but the States still has a few things we don't! Yeah, Markham's a bit of a hike for me. I'll file the info away, but since I've got the powder on-hand, I think I'll save myself the trip this time.

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