Salsa Taquera (Chili de Árbol Salsa)

Do you like your salsa hot? My Salsa Taquera is flaming Hot!! I mean on a scale of 1-5, this is definitely 5+ 🔥🔥🔥

When I dig into this fiery red salsa, it’s very addictive and all those tortilla chips disappear in no time. There is just enough heat, balanced with tangy, salty, and garlicky notes.

You’ll often find it at authentic Mexican taquerias (that’s taco shop or taco stand), served alongside other sauces. This salsa, made with árbol chilies and simple ingredients, really stands out. In Mexico, they say the meat is what makes a taco good, but a good salsa is what makes it exceptional! And let me tell you, this Salsa Taquera gets the job done easily and happily!

Salsa

Salsa, meaning sauce in Spanish, is far more than just that tomatoey condiment for tortilla chips. In Mexico, it can apply to any number of sauces, which almost always have some kind of chilies them. What kind of chilies, how many and how hot makes a big difference in the final product. Then, salsa could be cooked or uncooked. The classic salsa cruda is like my pico de gallo, where it’s just a fresh, raw mix.

Cooked salsas are made by cooking the ingredients before blending them together. The various flavors, tastes, and textures come from how the ingredients are cooked. They might be charred on a dry surface for a smoky flavor, shallow fried in oil for creaminess, simmered in water for brightness, or simply blended in the blender for a zingy taste.

What is Salsa Taquera?

Salsa Taquera (Taco salsa)… Salsa Roja (red salsa)… Chile de Árbol Salsa (árbol chili salsa). Different names for the same fiery thing. Traditionally it is made with a molcajete (mortar) and a tejolote (pestle), made from a roughly textured black volcanic rock. The ingredients are pounded into fine puree. But in modern times, your blender is more standard and popular in restaurants and taquerias.

When I whip up this salsa, it’s just a quick blend of plum tomatoes, garlic, árbol chili peppers, seasoned with simple salt and pepper, and sometimes a few other herbs and spices. Its flavor profiles vary depending on how I prep the ingredients before blending. I might dry roast them, boil them, sauté them, or simply blend them. But no matter how it’s made, one thing’s for sure: it’s always spicy!

Árbol Chili Peppers

Where does the heat come from? Arbol chilis! These small and vibrant red chilis are popular in Mexican cuisine and give quite a punch. They are 6 times hotter than the average jalapeño, and heatwise are similar to serrano or cayenne peppers. So yes, this salsa is meant to be hot. Saying that, you can still customize it to your own taste.

Ingredients Needed

• Tomatoes – I am using on-the vine tomatoes today. Roma or plum work great too.
• Onion – Just a little.
• Garlic – Yum.
• Árbol chilies – You will find them in the ethnic section in your grocery store.
• Oregano – just a hint.
• Salt
• Pepper
• Lime Juice

Tips

1. First decide how hot you want this salsa to come out. 🙂 I use 8 árbol chilies and it turns up quite hot, any true Mexican would approve. I suggest using 3-4 for mild, and 5-6 for medium heat.
2. I Remove the stems from the chilis, but leave the seeds. The seeds are important for the hotness.
3. I Sauté ingredients in stages. First onion and garlic, then chilis, then tomatoes. I only sauté the chilis for about a minute, till they turn slightly darker red. They can get bitter if overcooked.
4. I like to add the oil from the sauté pan into the blender. It’s not necessary, but it gives a creamier consistency.
5. I Blend it until smooth. This is not meant to be one of the chunky salsas and should be more saucy.
6. My usual motto: Taste And Adjust! Add more salt, pepper, oregano or lemon juice if you wish. And if it turns out too hot? Don’t worry, you can just add more tomatoes to counter the heat!

Serving Suggestions

This is taco salsa, so any tacos come alive with just a little addition of this bright fiery salsa. I like it on pollo asado, pork carnitas, barbacoa pork or beef tacos, al pastor tacos… or even simple street style chicken tacos. So basically, any of your favorite taco would be happy with this fiery addition.

I love pairing this salsa with burritos, tostadas, and taquitos. It’s also perfect for topping off a nacho bowl – so yummy! And sometimes, all I crave is endless tortilla chips to scoop it up with. This salsa also adds a flavorful kick when stirred into soups and stews.

Variations

1. For a smokier flavor, I roast the veggies on a dry skillet until they get blistered instead of sautéing them in oil. It adds a delicious depth to the salsa. Others prefer to boil the veggies in water before blending, which also brings out great flavors.
2. Some days I use tomatillos along with tomatoes to get a little different flavor.
3. Lot of Mexicans add cilantro in the blend… of course 🙂
4. To get more flavors, some add chicken bouillon.
5. Some people add canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. This adds to the smokiness.

Any salsa, the soul of Mexico in a bowl. So easy, so quick! I will be showing you many other commonly known salsas in the future. Subscribe to get all these flavors straight to your mailbox. Till then, chow down. Life is good when tacos are in your hands! Taco Anyday is a thing for me!! Make it yours too…

Salsa Taquera, on our Gypsy Plate… enjoy!

Looking for more tasty sauces? Try our…
Cilantro Mint Chutney
Tzatziki Sauce
Jamaican Jerk Marinade
Smokin’ Hot Chipotle Mayo
Guasacaca (Venezuelan Guacamole)
North African Chermoula
Salsa Verde

Salsa Taquera (Chili de Árbol Salsa)

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

If you like HOT, my Salsa Taquera is for you. Fiery árbol chilis and a few other simple ingredients blend together for the ultimate taco experience!

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Ingredients

• 4-5 tomatoes on the vine, quartered
• 3-8 árbol chilies (see notes)
• ¼ onion, white or Spanish, quartered
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp oregano
• 2 fresh lime, juiced

Instructions

1. Remove the stems from the árbol chilies.
2. Heat oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Sauté onion and garlic cloves till they change color, about 2-3 minutes. Remove and place them in a blender
3. In the same oil, sauté árbol chilies for a minute or so. Remove and place them in the blender.
4. Place the quartered tomatoes in a pan and cook them for few minutes, till they gets blistered all over.
5. Place the tomatoes along with rest of the ingredients in a blender. Season it with salt, pepper, oregano, lemon juice and blend until smooth.

Notes

1. You can use other varieties if tomatoes like roma or plum. Adding tomatillos in this salsa is also a very common practice.
2. Use árbol chili according to your heat preference. 3-4 for mild, 5-6 for medium and 7-8 for hot.
3. Leftovers: It can last very well for a couple of weeks in an airtight container in your refrigerator. You can freeze it for up to six months.

Nutrition Information

Yield 16 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 14Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 148mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 1g

Nutrition information calculated by Nutritionix.

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Welcome to GypsyPlate! I'm Alpana, former wordwide tour manager and professional caterer, now full time blogger. I love exploring cuisines from around the world, and my recipes have been featured on sites such as MSN, Parade, Brit + Co, CNET and AOL. You can explore my entire collection of sortable recipes in my Recipe Index or learn more about me here.