We just recently heard about Peri Peri Sauce (also called Piri Piri Sauce). Peri peri means "a very hot sauce made with red chili peppers. The word Peri means pepper so the sauce is basically called pepper pepper. So yes, this is hot!!!! 🌶🌶
Key Takeaways
- Peri Peri Sauce, also known as Piri Piri Sauce, is a very hot sauce made from bird's eye chili peppers and has a rich history dating back to the 15th century.
- Its origin stems from the Ronga language of southern Mozambique and Portuguese explorers who discovered the African bird's eye chili pepper.
- You can adjust the heat level of Peri Peri Sauce by using different types of peppers, including sweet peppers for a non-spicy version.
- The sauce is versatile, containing ingredients like garlic, lemons, vinegar, and fresh herbs, making it a favorite globally.
- Regardless of whether you call it peri-peri or piri-piri, its enduring popularity shows it's a true culinary keeper.
Peri Peri Origin
According to Wikipedia, "peri-peri is a foreign word meaning "a very hot sauce made with red chili peppers", and gives its ultimate origin as the word for "pepper" (presumably in the native-African sense) in the Ronga language of southern Mozambique, where Portuguese explorers developed the homonymous ..."
From our search we found, the sauce has been around since the 15th century when Portuguese explorers came across the African bird's eye chili pepper. They made a marinade that included garlic, red wine vinegar, paprika, and other seasonings. After five hundred years there is still a debate of the exact origins of the recipe. This is what makes food so interesting.
Peppers and Peri Peri Sauce
This sauce really brings the flavor to the party!!! As I mentioned, the original Peri Peri Sauce is made with "Birds eye" chili peppers and was found by Portuguese explorers in Mozambique. There is a long history of this sauce.
We found any pepper can be used. So, if you want to make a non-spicy version just substitute with a sweet pepper. Of course, we love it spicy and, as we found, is a major keeper!!!!
If you're not familiar with the bird's eye chili, according to Wikipedia, it's "small, but is quite hot (piquant). It measures around 50,000 - 100,000 Scoville units, which is at the lower half of the range for the hotter habanero, but still much hotter than a jalapeño."
For our Peri Peri sauce, we used a mix of peppers. We used the Purple UFO and Moroccan Cayenne Pepper which are both 30,000 to 50,00 Scoville heat units. And, to ensure it had plenty of heat, we added a ghost pepper which goes up to 1,000,000 on the heat scale!!!! So the sauce had a nice "kick-in-the-whiskers"!!!! 😆
What's in the Peri Peri Sauce or Piri Piri
This Chili-licious recipe includes a lot of our favorites like garlic, lemons, vinegar, fresh herbs, paprika, and, of course, lots of peppers. This sauce is very popular around the world so we just had to try it. And we are so happy we did. It's now one of our favorite sauces. My all-time favorite sauce has always been Pesto .....but now it's this sauce 😋
So whether you call it peri-peri or piri-piri the popularity of this chili sauce around the world and over the centuries proves it’s a keeper.
Some of our other favorite sauce recipes are:
Here are some other delicious recipes we think you'll love!
Peri Peri Sauce
Ingredients
- ¼ Cup Olive Oil
- ½ Pound Hot Peppers
- ½ Cup Cilantro
- ¼ Cup Basil
- 1 Lemon Juice and Zest
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 1 Tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
Instructions
- Zest Lemon. Juice Lemon. Wash peppers and herbs.
- Place ALL ingredients in a food processor and blend until preferred consistency.
- Place in refrigerator until ready to use.
- Enjoy!!!!
Please let us know what you think