Salsa Macha Recipe

This Salsa Macha dish is a spicy, umami Mexican chili crisp, accompanied by fried shallots and garlic, nuts and seeds, and chili flakes. Anyone can make it and enjoy it at home. This is a very spicy one; as a result, a small amount can go a long way. As soon as you taste it, store it in the refrigerator to satisfy your cravings!

Equipment for Making Salsa Macha at Home

• Heat-safe bowl
• Saucepan

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Avocado oil (or a neutral oil)
• 1 Shallot (minced)
• 3 Cloves Garlic (minced)
• 1⁄2 cup Chile Flakes (see notes for whole chiles)
• 1 oz Dry Roasted Peanuts (roughly chopped)
• 1 oz Roasted Pepitas
• 1 oz Roasted Sesame Seeds
• 2 tbsp Soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Hot sauce (or vinegar)
• 2 tbsp Kosher Salt
• 2 tbsp Granulated sugar

Instructions:

• Place the chile flakes in a large, heat-safe bowl with a mesh strainer over the top. Set aside.
• Heat the oil over medium-low heat to 300ºF to 325ºF in a saucepan before adding the shallots and garlic. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often, until golden. Be careful not to burn.
• Carefully pour the oil over the chile flakes, straining the fried shallots and garlic with the mesh strainer. Set the garlic and shallots aside.
• Let the chile flakes bloom in the oil for 30-60 seconds before adding the nuts, seeds, soy sauce, hot sauce, and half the salt and sugar to the oil. Stir everything together.
• Once the oil has mostly cooled, add the fried shallots and garlic. Add the remaining salt and sugar to taste.
• Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a month. Always use clean utensils in the chili oil to prevent spoilage. Before use, leave a few tablespoons out at room temperature to soften the salsa macha for drizzling.

Note:

• You can use olive oil, beef tallow, duck, or pork fat, but they will affect flavor. Vegetable or peanut oil are likely the cheapest options.
• You can use half Flatiron Dark and Smoky chile flakes (chipotle, habanero, and ancho) and Trader Joe's New Mexican Hatch chile flakes. If you're using whole dried chiles, make sure to remove the stems and seeds, chop them into small pieces, and then add them to the frying oil during the final minute or two of frying the garlic and shallot.
• You can increase the heat level with more chile flakes or by choosing hotter chiles. Flatiron makes a blend with arbol, ghost, habanero, and jalapeño peppers with an 80k Scoville scale rating. For comparison, the Dark and Smoky blend has a Scoville rating of 50k. They also make a 450k+ Scoville-rated blend for serious spice lovers.
• If you're using raw nuts and seeds, you'll want to add them directly to the frying oil for 1-2 minutes.
• You can add umami flavor without soy sauce by using other ingredients like Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, coconut aminos, fermented sauces, or MSG.