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Thai Oriented Hot Sauce Planning

Okay, so I got back from Thailand yesterday and I brought back with me some gorgeous orange Thai peppers.   Not really sure what exactly they are and don't really care....I just like the color and they have a great flavor.  This is them:
 
ThaiOrangeBangkokMarket.jpg

 
Anyway, I started thinking on the plane I should do a Thai tribute sauce (not sirachi), but one with lemon grass, ginger, and perhaps a little slight fish sauce flavor.
 
So, here's my plan that I'd appreciate input on if someone has gone down this road before:
 
1. Mash peppers and start the ferment, along with larger pieces of fresh ginger, lemon grass, and I'm thinking some mango.  I say larger pieces cause I want to remove them later, but want to include during the fermenting process to gain their flavors
 
2. After ferment of a month or so....remove the ginger, lemongrass, and mango and process the peppers alone with the brine...taste to see if I got any hints of the flavoring ingredients
 
3. If not, or I want more, then process the ginger and mango in small batches and add to the peppers until it tastes right, as well as a few drops of fish sauce with a side batch to see if it tastes okay; probably won't process the lemongrass cause it probably won't get smooth like the other items will (but I'm not sure)
 
4. Like my first trial runs, I'll probably top it off with a vinegar for my own piece of mind
 
Anyway, that's a general plan.  Today on another forum post I saw a Chinese style wine maker, which I saw in the market here a few months ago but had no idea what it was until this forum.  So, I bought one today (6 USD) and will use it for this ferment project.  They actually had a number of vessels that are made for fermenting, but I just had no idea at that time.  ha ha
 
So...let me know if the plan looks good or if anyone has some wise thoughts on it!
 
Thanks!  K
 
 
 
 
 
 
Couple of thought's for you to consider.
 
1. If you only want to add a small amount but are uncertain how much, ferment them in different vessels, then, when done, blender the snot out of them so that they're really fine. Then you can add the ginger, mango, lemon grass (which is wonderful in a fermented sauce) along with the Fish sauce and don't forget a touch of coconut milk and maybe a pinch of brown sugar during the simmer. Blender it again and that's when you want to taste it and adjust to taste.
 
2. Not a problem when done as separate ferments. I'd allow it to go at least 45 days before opening the vessel.
 
3. Go ahead and process it all, both ferments. What you don't use of the mango ferment you can freeze and save for use in future repeats of the sauce if it turns out good.
 
4. Get a Ph meter or some test strips, you will probably find that they are well below 4.0 and safe without adding any vinegar. If you do add some use Rice Vinegar as it is a much milder flavor and won't impact the sauce as much.
 
Post some pictures of that wine maker, we'd love to see it.
 
Cheers,
RM
 
Got this project going a few days ago.  Decided against the Chinese wine making jar cause it was so big once I got my peppers in....and I don't wanna mess this up.  Here's the start up pics....I also made my own starter by straining yogurt.  I added a tablespoon and it's bubbling after 1.5 days.  I also put the left over whey in a small jar and added some carrots....but it's not bubbling...any ideas on that???
 
15971487511_8fcd0d5cc5_b.jpg
15971486831_9d356b6f03_b.jpg


....and sorry for the huge pics!
 
kjwalker said:
Got this project going a few days ago.  Decided against the Chinese wine making jar cause it was so big once I got my peppers in....and I don't wanna mess this up.  Here's the start up pics....I also made my own starter by straining yogurt.  I added a tablespoon and it's bubbling after 1.5 days.  I also put the left over whey in a small jar and added some carrots....but it's not bubbling...any ideas on that???
 
 

....and sorry for the huge pics!
 
Did you put them in whole or shredded? Whole carrots will be very slow to ferment as the LAB have to penetrate the carrots deeper to consume the sugars whereas shredded, finely shopped in a food processor or other wise cut down into smaller pieces will make it easier for to penetrate and consume them.
 
Everyone uses US currency bro!  ha ha....actually at the time I didn't have a way to post pics here so I just googled the Thai orange pepper and wa la!  That's them.  I think they are actually called Thai orange pepper.  I'm sure there's a more scientific name though.  
 
I didn't save any seeds cause it's so hard to grow stuff in Shanghai.
 
Thanks for the suggestion on the carrot in the ferment.  Maybe I'll rip up some cabbage and put in there.  The batch still smells like yogurt though.  Is that normal?

By the way...could I pull out a few of the floating seeds during the ferment and still use them to grow???

Here's the jar I found at the local wet market, "filled" with 380 g of red peppers...obviously I need a smaller jar or a larger ferment.  I guess this is how it works...you put water in the lid area.  Is that what some refer to as a CO2 blanket?
 
15793023868_ac3fcaa348_b.jpg
 
Love the pics brother!! I never use labs that aren't made from vegetable proteins. Therefore I believe I get a cleaner taste. If you can find it I use whitelab delbrueckii lab this is the stuff!! Made in a lab clean made to be used with fruit and vegetables. Lots of members use sourdough starter or yogurt way but mine always have a nice clean smell just pepper smell!! sorry to any members who go the other route. Just my humble opinion :)
Co2 is gas release during fermentation water seal allows gas to pass by without allowing in air inside creating a anaerobic condition inside of jar!! This is what you want! :)
 
Roguejim said:
I wonder if Joyner might know the name of those pods. I'd like to grow those.
 
Prik Luang
 
PM if you'd like some OP seeds.
 
If you did want to plus up that jar some I can think of several things that might be good I there and keep it real with the Thai ingredients. Green Papaya would be interesting and you gotta put some good Thai Basil to it. Crushed Peanuts would also be interesting. Not quite traditional but some Butternut Squash would give it a nice consistency and not alter the Thai influence flavor profile much. Just some ideas to chew on
 
Wow...just a week into this and that jar is bubbling up like it's alive!  Great to see cause my other ferments were kinda slow.  I tasted it yesterday and it's great.  Has anyone ever broke down and scooped out a small amount and made a sauce halfway through the process?  ha ha
 
Update: Well, I pulled this ferment a few weeks ago and it's still sitting in my fridge in woozy bottles untouched.  I guess my screw up was in using perhaps too much lemon grass.  The sourness is tough to get past, even though I removed as much as I could prior to cooking and processing.  It also could have been the Thai lime leaves.
 
ANYWAY....just an FYI if you're thinking of using some lemon grass in your ferments.  I am thinking today to add more mango to see if I can fix the stuff.  
 
Also...just wondering why my pics are no longer available.  I used flickr....and found I really hate flickr.
 
K
 
Just wanted to update the outcome of the Thai sauce.  In the end, it's too...pungeant...perhaps is the word as the lemon grass totally took over.  Very strong flavor in this category and I am not a big fan.  
 
Actually, I learned a lesson from this as I've made subsequent sauces with great success.  The key I think is the old KISS rule...Keep It Simple Stupid.  
 
The complex Thai Sauce was a fail, a follow up sauce with toasted sesame paste was okay, but the best so far is just peppers and a sushi rice vinegar (which has sugar added and is mild).
 
Anyway, just two cents and also to wrap this thread up.
 
K
 
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