If your jalapenos are not very hot, use 1 or 2 serranos along with the jalapenos for your 6 ounces. A medium tomatillo is about 1 ¼-inches wide, like a huge cherry tomato! This recipe makes ¾ cup.Adapted from Andrea Nguyen’s The Pho Cookbook (Ten Speed Press, 2017).
Ingredients
1large clove garlic
3ouncestomatillosabout 3 medium ones
6ouncesjalapeno chiles
1pinchturmericoptional, to brighten color
Brimming 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
Brimming 1 tablespoon sugarpreferably organic
1tablespoondistilled white vinegar
1⁄2 cup waterplus more as needed
Instructions
Coarsely chop the garlic, then husk the tomatillo and coarsely chop. Transfer to a 1 1⁄2-quart (1.5 l) saucepan.
Stem and quarter the chiles lengthwise. Because you want a moderate amount of heat, seed half of the chile pieces, reserving those unwanted parts in case the chiles are wimpy. With the skin side facing up, coarsely cut all of the chiles crosswise into pieces the size of your thumbnail. Use one of the leftover stem pieces and your knife to usher them into the pan. Add the turmeric, salt, sugar, vinegar, and water.
Bring to a brisk simmer over medium heat. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the chiles have softened and are a pale green. Taste midway. If it’s too mild, add some of the reserved chile seeds and spongy placenta to the pan.
When done, slide to a cool burner, let sit for 3 to 5 minutes, then puree in a blender. Expect skin bits and seeds to remain. Pass through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the mixture with a spatula; discard the solids. Allow to cool and concentrate, uncovered, for about 1 hour before tasting and tweaking.
If needed, add salt by the pinch, sugar by the 1⁄4 teaspoon, vinegar by the 1⁄2 teaspoon, or water by the tablespoon. Texturally, the sauce should resemble a pourable sriracha. The flavor should be pleasantly sweet and spicy. You will want to eat the chile sauce by the spoonful but know that you should not. Keep refrigerated for up to 3 months. Enjoy at room temperature.