Heyyyyy folks! How’s everyone’s week going?
I’m rocking it right now in the Middle East but I’m sooo honoured to share with you a condiment I made a few weeks ago which I gotta say — a must have in your fridge/freezer especially if you’re a huge fan of chillies (please… who isn’t!?).
Chilli paste is no stranger in a Malay household. If we live with our parents or grandparents, chances are there’s always a ready to cook chilli paste in the fridge. Now because I don’t live with them, I am one of those people who buys packed chilli paste from our grocery shops.
Since I’ve discovered this recipe, I can’t believe how much I’ve been missing out. In a health perspective, I absolutely love having complete control over what I put into my body as much as I can which means, making your own paste means you know what’s in it. Plus one serve of this contains just under 70 calories!
In a convenience perspective, it’s so easy to make and it doesn’t take any longer than 10 minutes!
I use chilli paste in a lot of my cooking like in this recipe and this recipe so give this condiment a shot, keep it in the fridge or freezer and toss them into your cooking when you need it. Guys, if I can make chilli paste… so can you okay lol.
Oh just putting it out there, you can also have this chilli paste as a dip, marinade your protein, in your sandwiches and more… so nope it’s not just for cooking okay. It’s a huge flavour hit because everything with chilli just tastes so much better.
Btw, this paste using this recipe is pretty damn spicy. So feel free to remove the seeds from the dried chillies if you want to hold the spice or don’t have to add the red chillies (i.e. the dried chillies is enough). The recipe is good to make into a 450g mason jar and hey… if you have friends who loves chillies, you can snap on a ribbon and give this as a gift. Ideas!!!
So go give it a try. Give me a holler on Instagram if you made this and let’s all always have chilli paste in our home. Because chilli is love. And love is love. 😉
Healthy & Fuss-free Chilli Paste
This recipe yields one 16 oz jar or approximately 450g of chilli paste. The nutrition information is based on 45g serving or 10 serves.
Time needed – 10 minutes
Cost – ~S$0.40 per serve
Note: You do need a food processor or a blender.
Here’s what you need:
- 100g dried chillies
- 300ml water
- 1 large red onion, quartered
- 5 red chillies, cut in half
- 10 cloves garlic
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Himalayan Rock Sea Salt
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
Here’s how you do it:
- Begin by cutting the dried chillies into 2-3 pieces and into a saucepan.
- Put on heat on medium high, and place the saucepan on the stove. Add in water.
- Let the dried chillies boil for about 5 mins and then soak it further for 15 minutes with no heat. Once time’s up, drain the chillies and set aside.
- Add the dried chillies, red chillies, onion and garlic into a food processor and process until it becomes a fine paste.
- Heat oil in a wok. Add in ground chilli, salt and sugar. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes and remove from heat.
- Let it cool, store it in a jar for up to 3 weeks in the fridge!
How much this costs:
*Keep in mind that this numbers are a rough guide. It depends on where you buy it and when. You can definitely save more money if you purchase in wet markets etc. At the end of the day it’s possible to eat healthy without breaking the bank. Also, ~ denotes the items that should already be in your pantry for a long time or it’s a very small amount.
- 100g dried chillies – $1.00
- 300ml water – n/a
- 1 large red onion, quartered – $0.20
- 5 red chillies, cut in half – $0.50
- 10 cloves garlic – $1.00
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil – $0.80
- 1 tsp Himalayan Rock Sea Salt – ~
- 1 tsp coconut sugar – $0.20
Total price = ~S$3.70
Price per serve = ~ S$0.40
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information below is based on the ingredients I’ve used above. It may not be an accurate representation of the chilli paste you made.
This recipe yields one 16 oz jar or approximately 450g of chilli paste. The nutrition information is based on a 45g serving.
Calories 67.2 Protein 0.7g Carbs 4.4g Sugar 1.8g Fibre 0.6g Fats 5.7g Saturated Fats 0.8g
