One of the standard ferments you can find in my fridge, is the much admired fermented chili pepper sauce. It’s perfect for adding extra spiciness and flavor to dishes like chilis, curries, peanut stews, and even vegan Shakshuka (am currently hooked on its vegan version using chickpeak flour mixed with water and black salt for the fake eggs.
For the sauce, I ferment peppers (green, red, whatever colour you find) for 2 weeks in a salt brine. Important to use untreated salt, water and vegetables. Depending on how spicy/hot you like the sauce, you add chili flakes or fresh chilis. Also other spices such as cardamom, cumin or coriander seeds could be added. I’ve also tried it with ginger, cardamom, cumin, and coriander seeds added. Very tasty and different every time.
It’s best to prepare a large quantity right away because the sauce keeps very well (due to the vinegar added) and is also a great gift, souvenir, etc.
Use a much larger jar for this (unfortunately, I don’t have one at the moment) and adjust the amount accordingly.
Once the peppers have shriveled nicely after fermentation, I blend them together with a bit of the brine and some untreated apple cider vinegar in a food processor. The sauce can then be stored in the fridge for several months.
