Chile

About

Fresh green chiles, like green bell peppers, are unripe fruit with a grassy, vegetal flavor and slight bitterness, similar to green beans but brighter and cleaner. Fresh red chiles, being ripe, are sweeter; dried chiles are sweeter still, taking on dried-fruit qualities similar to sun-dried tomatoes, raisins, and prunes, with notes of tobacco, green tea, or black olive, and sometimes a smoky character if they have been smoke-dried. Chili sauces, oils, pastes, and even chili-infused vodka are all used to add heat and flavor to dishes.

Pairs well with chile

• RoSesameShichimi togarashi, Japanese seven-spice powder, combines sesame seeds with other aromatics such as poppy seeds, sansho pepper, dried…
• BrMisoDoenjang, Korea's counterpart to Japanese hatcho miso, is made from soybeans alone and has a strong, cheesy, savory flavor.
• SpPeppercornChiles largely displaced peppercorns as a source of heat in Asian cooking because they're easier to grow.
• SuCornCorn's mild sweetness offsets chile's heat and depth.
• MuMustardDeviled flour, a traditional coating for frying whitebait, kidneys or mushrooms, combines all-purpose flour with cayenne and mustard…
• EaChickpeaChickpea (gram) flour is the base for bhajis and pakoras, mixed with chili powder, turmeric, and sometimes finely chopped fresh chilies,…
• EaLentilA vegetarian chili made with red lentils, red pepper flakes, kidney beans, tomato, cumin, coriander, cardamom and cocoa is a well-known…
• GrBuckwheatIn Bhutan, cold buckwheat noodles (jare) are served with fried chiles, scallions and sometimes a fried egg; because buckwheat lacks…
• GrKaleChiles amplify kale's natural pepperiness, and smoked chili powder gives kale chips an appealingly junky edge.
• SpAllspiceAllspice and chile are the backbone of Jamaican jerk seasoning, a method with roots in the cooking of the Maroons, escaped slaves in…
• WoCashewHot, spiced cashews are a common bar snack in Sri Lanka, combining the nut's richness with chili heat.
• EaFava beanFava beans and chiles combine in doubanjiang, a fermented Sichuan chili-bean paste made simply from beans, chiles, flour and water, best…
• SpFenugreekFenugreek is a legume, not an umbellifer, despite tasting of fennel and celery, and like some relatives it can be whipped into an aquafaba.
• FrYogurtYogurt's casein protein cools the burn of chile's capsaicin, which is why chili oil or butter pairs well with it.
• FrTamarindTamarind-chili candies combine a sweet, salty, slightly tobacco-like outer layer with tamarind's fruity sourness and a notable chile kick;…
• CrPapayaPapaya, with its pink flesh and caviar-like black seeds, can be blended with fresh green chile, sugar syrup and lime for sorbet, or dipped…
• EaSplit peaGreen chile's flavor overlaps with garden pea, making a natural match with green split peas.
• EaTofuTofu's mild coolness offsets chile heat, as in mapo tofu, where a spicy sauce of doubanjiang chili-bean paste and ground meat clings…
• GrGreen beanChef Bill Jones fries chopped chiles, garlic and shallot in grapeseed oil, then adds blanched green beans until their skins blister,…
• EaKidney beanWhether chili con carne should include beans is contentious in the US, but in the UK a chili is generally defined by containing both…
• MuRadishKorean radish and chiles combine in kakdugi, a kimchi of chunked radish fermented with chiles, ginger and scallions, giving sweet, juicy…
• GrOkraOkra's ridged pods hold seasoning well; chili powder with salt, or chaat masala (black salt, cayenne, amchoor and spices, tasting like a…
• CiYuzuYuzu kosho, a Japanese condiment made from green or red chiles, is a fresh, hot paste rather than a powder.