How do I make Panamanian Aji Chombo hot suace?

Question

I once tried a panamanian sauce called Aji Chombo It was homemade and yellowish-green in color. My friend who lived many years in Panama carried a bottle for years. She said that most used it sparingly due to it being too hot. It was more green than yellow, thick with chuncks of pepper and lots of seeds. I have searched fo "famous" Panama hot sauces but none compare.

Answer 1

Aji Chombo is a type of chilli, closely related to habanero or scotch bonnet.  That ties in with your friend using it sparingly.

You can buy it online, look for D'Elidas or one called GranMa

You can buy a wide variety of habanero or scotch bonnet sauces in most ethnic supermarkets, especially caribbean.  Windmill Yellow sauce is similar.

to make it yourself, you would buy some habaneroes or scotch bonnets (same sort of supermarket), you're unlikely to get true aji chombos unless you grow them yourself (see available online). Remove the stalks. You then need to chop them, this can be dangerous - get a tiny splash in your eye and you will regret it. It's best to wear latex gloves, or use a food processor.  Do NOT chop with bare hands (and a knife of course) and then go to the toilet.  It hurts like h**l.  If you get the juice on your hands they can burn for days.

Then they're chopped or minced, add water, 20% vinegar and salt to taste. if you can taste it! it should be fairly thick, pourable but not runny.  The 20% vinegar stops mould forming, chillies are prone to botulism so this is important.

You can add sugar too for a sweeter sauce.

if you like this sort of heat, try seeking our some naga jolokia chillies. They are as hot but have a lot more flavour.

You can buy them fresh from http://www.dorsetnaga.com/ or as seeds from www.reallycoolseeds.co.uk.