This hot sauce from Pernambuco is commonly served in a small dish at 
Brazilian meals to spice up such dishes as feijoada and seafood stews. 
It features the malagueta pepper, that close relative of the tabasco 
pepper. Variation: Make a paste by pureeing the peppers, garlic, onion, 
and salt in a blender. Add the lemon or lime juice and stir well.

Early in the sixteenth century, chiles were transferred from Portuguese 
Brazil to their colony of Angola. These small, piquin-like chiles (which 
were probably Brazilian malaguetas) were called piri-piri 
(pepper-pepper) and became an integral part of the local cuisine. The 
sauce made from them was transferred back to Portugual, where it is a 
staple on dining tables--served with seafood, soups, and stews. Since 
the piri-piri chiles are not usually available, use chiles de árbol, 
cayenne chiles, chile piquins, or chiltepíns. Note: This recipe requires 
advance preparation.

Here is a basic Brazilian hot sauce featuring malagueta chiles. It is 
simple, powerful, and can be added to any recipe (except desserts) to 
spice it up. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

This recipe and others can be found in the following article:

This recipe and others can be found in the following article:

Making Thailand's "Chile Water"

Story and Photos by Austin Bush

This is the most basic form of the family of spicy relishes known as nam phrik in Thailand. Nam plaa phrik is spooned over one's rice to spice up bland food, much the way salt is used in the west. 

This basic sauce can be used in any recipe calling for a red sauce, 
either traditional Mexican or New Southwestern versions of beans, tacos, 
tamales, and enchiladas. Variations: Spices such as cumin, coriander, 
and Mexican oregano may be added to taste. Some versions of this sauce 
call for the onion and garlic to be sauteed in lard--or vegetable oil 
these days--before the chiles and water are added.

This highly aromatic Burmese sauce is commonly used to heat up Southeast
Asian curries. Shrimp or prawn paste may be substituted for the
fermented dried fish if you can't find it at the Asian market. In a
pinch, use canned anchovy fillets.

From Arequipa, Peru, one of the hottest (chile-wise) cities in Latin 
America, comes this unusual, delicious sauce that is traditionally 
served over boiled and sliced potatoes that are garnished with lettuce, 
olives, and hardboiled egg slices. Try it over fried fish as well.

From Sierra Leone, here is one of the more unusual hot sauces I
encountered. Besides palm oil, it is characterized by greens such as
cassava and sweet potato leaves; spinach makes an adequate substitute.
Some versions of this dish are more of a stew than a sauce, but this one
is designed to be served over rice. Warning: Palm oil is high in
saturated fat.