A bright, spicy sauce made with charred green onions, Fresno and habanero chiles, garlic, lime and fish sauce. Grilling the vegetables adds smoky depth, while palm sugar balances the heat and acidity.
Yield: About 1 cup
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch green onions, green ends trimmed as needed
- 1 Fresno chile
- 1 habanero chile
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- Cooking oil, as needed
- Kosher salt, as needed
Instructions:
- Prepare a grill for direct high-heat cooking.
- Lightly coat the green onions, Fresno chile, habanero and garlic cloves with cooking oil and season with kosher salt.
- Place the vegetables in a perforated grill pan and set over the direct heat.
- Grill for 1–2 minutes, turning as necessary, until the vegetables are nicely charred. Remove from the grill.
- When cool enough to handle, remove the seeds from the Fresno and habanero chiles. Finely mince the chiles together and set aside.
- Cut the charred green onions into bite-size pieces and reserve.
- Place the charred garlic and sugar in a mortar. Using the pestle, pound until a fine paste forms.
- Add the fish sauce and lime juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the minced chiles, cilantro and charred green onions. Stir thoroughly to combine.
- Taste and adjust with additional lime juice, fish sauce or salt as desired. Serve at room temperature.
Tip: Habaneros can be extremely hot. Removing the seeds reduces some of the heat, but much of the capsaicin is concentrated in the pale inner ribs. Remove those as well for a milder sauce, and consider wearing gloves when handling the chile.
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