Hawaiian Chili Water
One thing you find in just about every place in the world is some kind of hot sauce ready to liven up any dish that is lacking. We have always been big fans of unique hot sauces (check out our post with jackfruit hot sauce recipe) and don’t miss a chance to try a few drops of whatever is on the table.
Like many things here on the island chili peppers grow with ease under the island sun and the variety that is available can be attributed to the influx of immigrant workers who came to Hawaii to work the pineapple and sugar cane fields many years ago.
Ginger, garlic and chill peppers
Hawaiian chili water is a staple in many homes and restaurants throughout the islands with a number of commercially produced varieties available in the grocery stores. Its ingredients will vary slightly from place to place but its simplicity of preparation is the same for all.
We met up with Virginia, on our last run to Kipahulu, to sell her some eggs and she was kind enough to bring me some more of her fiery Maui chili peppers. This time there were three varieties, Thai, serrano and a whitish, round pepper that’s not too hot but packs lots of flavour. She also brought me some young taro leaves but that’s for another recipe.
Hawaiian chili water
You can use whatever chili peppers you have on hand, many recipes say to use dried chilies and add in whatever you like. In the batch of chili water that I made I used fresh peppers as well as a couple of other ingredients to add to the flavour. This is the easiest thing you will ever make and is great splashed on rice, eggs, grilled meat or fish, whatever strikes your fancy. Aloha!
- 12 to 20 hot chili peppers
- 1 inch of ginger, sliced into rounds
- 3 cloves of garlic, slightly crushed
- 2 Tbsp of rice wine vinegar
- 2 tsp of Mirin (optional)
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 4 cups water
- Place all of the ingredients (except the water) in a clean and sterilized glass jar with a tight fitting lid.
- Since I used fresh chilies I poured some boiling water over them quickly in a colander to completely clean them before putting them in the jar.
- Bring the water to a boil and let cool to just warm then pour over the chilies and seal the jar.
- Put the jar in a sunny window for a day and after that it's ready to eat.
- Keep it in the fridge and splash its ono goodness on whatever you desire.
I love a touch of chili in my food, this chili water is definitely a nice alternative to the chili powder or dried chilies I normally use and it’s so easy to make, thanks guys for sharing! 🙂
We’ve been using it at every meal since we discovered it.
Thanks for this recipe! I tried chile water at several restaurants and in one homes on my last trip to Maui but I couldn’t get around to the watery texture–it never seemed spicy enough and the flavor didn’t seem complex enough to “stick” to the food. But I’d love to try making it myself, perhaps adding extra peppers and a higher ratio of vinegar to water?
You could definitely play around with it and come up with your own version. That’s what cooking is all about 🙂