Habanero peppers, grown on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, are “hot, hot, hot,”… but they also have a uniquely floral character and fruity sweetness with just a hint of smoke! Although heavily grown in Mexico, they originated in the Amazon basin and then, following domestication, spread throughout South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Traditionally, mangos and orange habaneros are blended to make a super spicy and fruity hot sauce doused over chicken wings or other chicken parts! Variations have popped up all over the place in Latin America. Regardless of how the sauce is adapted, one thing chefs can agree upon is that mango and habaneros go together like cheese and dough, a.k.a. the perfect combination.
Instead of whipping up traditional thin and robust hot sauce, our recipe features a yogurt-based sauce with a lusciously thick texture, freshly grated ginger, and pickled diced habanero. Dip it, dunk it, drizzle it, or dollop it. It simply makes everything better.
Choosing the Right Habaneros
Yucatan dishes often employ orange habanero peppers. Orange habaneros are spicy, pungent, and floral, but may not be as sweet. If you want a spicier pepper with a tiny bit more sweetness, we recommend red habanero peppers instead.
Why Do We Pickle the Habaneros?
Honestly, that heat of a habanero pepper is “in your face,” reaching up to 300,000 Scoville units. The pickling process will soften the heat slightly, making it palatable and easy to eat without choking and turning various shades of red!
Essential Ingredients for the Pickling Liquid
- Apple cider vinegar
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar
How to Eat It
- Dip our Panko Fried Shrimp
- Drizzle it on top of this Grilled Chicken
- Dollop it on top of this Seared Salmon
- Skip the ginger and the mango and drizzle the sauce onto this Tuna Poke Bowl
- Drizzle it over these Jerk Chicken Kabobs
Storage
Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container and consume it for up to 3-4 days.
Purge Your Fridge
You just finished devouring our mango habanero sauce, and you are left with the following ingredients:
- Excess cilantro
- Yogurt
- Maybe a few more habanero peppers
We recommend whipping up some more pickling liquid and pickling habanero pepper slices to eat on other dishes for some extra heat! Moreover, make this Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce with the leftover cilantro and yogurt.
Ingredients
Mango Habanero Sauce
- 1 mango medium-sized, diced
- 1/2 habanero pepper finely diced
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 thumb ginger grated
- 2 tbsp yogurt
- 1/4 tsp salt
Pickling Liquid
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp sugar
Instructions
Cut the Vegetables and Prepare the Herbs
- Grate the ginger and dice the mango. Set aside.
- Finely chop the cilantro. Set aside.
- Clean and finely dice the habanero pepper. Set aside.
Pickle the Habanero Pepper
- Combine apple cider vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a saucepan.
- Place the saucepan on the stovetop at high heat. Boil for 3 minutes or until the sugar and salt are dissolved.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat, and pour the pickling liquid into a mixing bowl over the diced habanero peppers.
- Allow it to sit for 20 minutes.
- Drain the pickling liquid from the pickled habanero peppers.
Mix the Mango Habanero Sauce
- Combine diced mango, grated ginger, lime juice, and yogurt into a food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Stir in salt, chopped cilantro, and pickled habanero peppers.
- Serve and enjoy.
