Coconut Sauce
De Arbol (Capsicum Annuum) means tree like in Spanish. The plant has thick, upright, woody stems and the chile itself is narrow, curved and bright red in color. Believed to be closely related to the pequin, the De Arbol is thin fleshed, with tannic, smoky, grassy flavor and searing heat. This chile has a heat range of 7.5 on the heat scale of 1-10. De Arbol Chiles are comparable to a Cayenne Pepper. Scoville heat units 15,000 to 30,000.
Suggested Use:
De Arbol is a hot chile and a staple in Southwest kitchens. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish. Be adventurous and add them to your next stew or chili along with the other spices Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish.
Ingredients:
1-1/4 cups chicken stock or broth
1 (15 oz.) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 chicken leg, cut into a drumstick and thigh and skin discarded
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, 1 or 2 tough outer leaves discarded and root end trimmed
2″ piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 small dried chile (preferably Thai or de arbol), halved lengthwise and seeds discarded
Instructions:
Bring the stock, coconut milk and chicken to a boil in a 1-1/2 to 2 quart saucepan, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes.
Crush the lemongrass stalk with the side of a heavy knife (to release the oils), then thinly slice. Add the lemongrass, ginger and chile to the coconut mixture and bring it to a boil. Remove the pan from the heat and let it stand, covered, for 30 minutes.
Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, discarding any solids, then return the sauce to the pan and bring to a boil. Season the sauce with salt. Let it cool for 10 minutes. Blend the sauce in a blender until it is frothy, about 30 seconds (use caution when blending hot liquids). Serve immediately.
The sauce can be made (but not blended) 1 day ahead of time and kept chilled and covered in the refrigerator. Reheat and blend just before serving.
This sauce is excellent with fish and is good for spicing up poached skinless boneless chicken.
Recipe from Gourmet Magazine, October 2003.