Spicy taste test: The best homemade chilli sauces in Singapore you can get now
CNA Lifestyle’s resident spice connoisseurs put six made-in-Singapore, personal-recipe bottled chillies through a rigorous taste test. Check out the video.
Which of these delicious, freshly bottled chillies will make you sweat? (Photo: May Seah)
It was with much pleasure that we noticed a nose-twitching, salivation-inducing trend of late: More and more people are making and selling their own special chilli concoctions, cooking them up in fresh batches, often at home, and putting them in jars for online orders and deliveries.
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For some, such as theatre actress Pam Oei, the “circuit breaker” period served as motivation to roll up their sleeves in the kitchen and start offering their well-loved personal chilli recipes to a public audience.
Others, like Le Binchotan’s Jeremmy Chiam, are food professionals who have found an enthusiastic market for their specially developed spice creations.
The best thing about all of this, if you ask us, is that chilli recipes can be so diverse and delicious that there’s sure to be a chilli for everyone, whether you like your spice shrimpy or citrusy; smooth or chunky; comfortably mild or burning a daredevil hole right through the Scoville scale.
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AGATHA’S GARLIC CHILLI, S$15
Theatres are still shut, but actress Pam Oei hasn’t been sitting idle at home – she’s been cooking up and bottling chilli. The response has been enthusiastic, so it’s a useful source of alternative income, on top of being a meaningful personal project.
The spicy concoction is the special recipe of her late mother, Agatha, and making the chilli has served as a sort of connection to her memory, according to Pam, who wrote in an Instagram post, “Padi like it’s 1999. That was the year my mother died, at age 54. These days the smell of her garlic chilli fills my (her) kitchen a lot. I think she would have been pretty chuffed I’m bottling her chilli for sale.”
Order via instagram.com/agathasgarlicchilli
ZHEN DE LA: NOT FOR AMATEURS, S$10
Probably the spiciest of the lot, this fiery sambal belachan is from Chef Jeremmy Chiam of Le Binchotan, who used to serve it as an accompaniment to his Hokkien mee, a well-loved supper special in the restaurant.
It’s now available in take-home jars, which is great news for spice lovers – and a little really goes quite a long way. Psst, the Hokkien mee is also now available for lunch deliveries under the Zhen De La label.
Order via instagram.com/zhen_de_la
MALAHGIC, S$10
This jar of mala magic is cooked up by a 76-year-old grandfather who was inspired to make a healthier, preservative-free mala concoction when his 10-year-old grandson began slurping on spicy hotpot broth every day.
After many kitchen trials and experiments, MaLAHgic (it’s mala magic, lah) was launched on National Day last year. The business is a family affair: His 14-year-old granddaughter manages its social media account while his grandson is, er, the chief taster – a highly challenging job, as the deliciously peppery sauce can be used with grilled meats, fried chicken, noodle dishes and pretty much anything you can think of.
Order via instagram.com/malahgic
SIMPLY CHILLI, S$10.90
This one is made by a former fashion editor who set out to create a keto-friendly chilli, using monk fruit sweetener to replace sugar. Simply Chilli boasts a low-carb, gluten-free product, with the option to choose between chilli sauces made with extra virgin olive oil and peanut oil.
Other ingredients include Himalayan pink salt, kaffir leaves and lime juice. There are three levels of spiciness: Mild, Spicy and Extra Spicy, so everyone can pick their own poison. If you’re looking for more than chilli sauce, there’s also pesto with a dash of green chillies added in (S$15.90).
Order via instagram.com/simplychillisg
TINKERFUN, S$9.50
Designed to pair well with absolutely everything, this universally appealing chilli is from food professional Michelle Lee, who worked as a producer on MasterChef Asia and MasterChef Singapore, as well as in the kitchen of restaurants including L’atelier Joel Robuchon and The Black Swan.
Only 15 jars of chilli are in each batch that comes straight out of her home kitchen, as the steps are labour-intensive: In addition to a calibrated blend of chillies, the magic touch is the addition of hand-cut, fried shallot slices, added at the very last step.
Order via instagram.com/tinkerfun.homemade
SHIOK UNTIL BLUR’S SUPERSHIOK SAMBAL, S$6
This one has been a favourite, especially among the Malay community, for a while now, and it's easy to see why. The shrimpy sambal is easy to pair with nearly everything and certainly has enough of a spicy kick to be labelled "supershiok." There's also a sambal kichap as well, for those who love sweet-spicy dynamics.
Order via www.shiokuntilblur.com
