Lemon Drop Hot Sauce (Aji Limon Hot Sauce) is a delicious condiment made using Peruvian Aji Limon peppers. Use it to spice up your recipes or serve it as a dip. Here is how to make it.
Add whole coriander seeds and cumin seeds to a skillet and roast on medium heat until they are fragrant and lightly browned.
Add the chopped Aji Limon peppers to the skillet and saute for 3-4 minutes until they are slightly charred.
Remove the skillet from heat and let the peppers cool down.
Transfer them to a blender along with garlic cloves, extra virgin olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.
Blend until very smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed, for 3-5 minutes.
Pass the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. With a rubber spatula, push the sauce through the strainer to separate all liquid from chunks of pepper and spices. Discard the leftovers.
Stir in honey and salt.
You can now use the sauce as it or thicken it by adding cornstarch to it.
Thicken The Sauce (Optional)
If you want to thicken the sauce, then stir together cornstarch and water to make a slurry.
Transfer the sauce to a skillet and heat on medium heat.
Once the sauce comes to a boil, add in the cornstarch slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring continuously.
Note - If you want an even thicker sauce, then add some more cornflour slurry and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Remove the skillet from heat and let the sauce cool down completely.
Transfer it to a clean glass container and refrigerate for up to 15 days.
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Notes
To make it vegan, just replace honey with agave nectar or maple syrup.