Proceed with Caution: Extremely Spicy!
The Ghost pepper is the hottest chile in the world as recently confirmed by Guinness World Records. It is native to Northeastern India and is also called Bhut Jolokia or Naga Jolokia after one of the most venomous snakes, King Cobra.
This chile pepper is extremely hot and spicy. On the Scoville scale, it measures 855,000–1,050,000 units. For comparison, the hottest chile pepper many people are familiar with is the habanero chile which measures nearly a tenth less, at 100,000–350,000 Scoville units. When handling Ghost peppers, use caution and wear gloves. Even the airborne dust particles emanating during preparation may irritate some people, and I strongly recommend avoiding cooking with Ghost peppers when children are around.
I enjoy spicy sauces, and some of my prepared hot sauces are hotter than many people prefer. However, they are never quite spicy enough for my husband, who is a real spice lover. So, even though the Ghost pepper seemed a little scary to me, I asked Marx Foods to include it in my chile samples with a goal to make a dish spicy enough for my husband.
For this preparation, my goal was to make a sauce with a relatively simple flavor profile so we would be able to taste the true flavor of these chilies. I made a creamy sauce with just the Ghost chilies, onions, cream, and a little bit of agave. The result was very spicy but also very flavorful with wonderful smokiness and even a hint of sweetness.
I am happy to report that my husband finally said that this Ghost Chile Cream Sauce was spicy enough! I only put a few drops of this sauce on my monkfish and it was still very spicy for me! Of course, I did use three chiles (with the seeds), and unless you have a very high heat tolerance like my husband, I would only recommend using one chile and taking out the seeds before incorporating into the sauce.
I paired this sauce with coconut crusted monkfish. We loved the combination of smoky ghost pepper cream sauce with toasty coconut and delicate monkfish. On a side, Jasmine rice and brown sugar butternut squash mash were great side dishes to help absorb the heat of the chilies.
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 onions, finely chopped
2/3 cup cream
3 Ghost pepper chilies
1 tablespoon agave
1 large monkfish fillet
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil
Directions:
Place ghost pepper chiles in a small pot, cover with water. Bring to boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes until the chiles are softened. Take the chilies out of the pot and blend into a paste in a food processor, adding a tablespoon of the water from the pot if necessary.
In a skillet, heat butter and add onions. Saute until translucent. Add the chili paste and cook for another minute. Add cream and stir well to blend. Simmer for a few minutes until the cream reduces by 1/3. Blend and strain, then keep the sauce warm until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, slice the monkfish into 1 inch rounds or other shapes, if desired. Whisk the egg a little bit in a bowl. Combine the flour, coconut, and salt in a shallow bowl or plate. Heat oil in a skillet. Dip the monkfish rounds into the egg, and coat with coconut-flour mixture. Place in a skillet and fry for a few minutes per side.
Serve monkfish with Jasmine rice and brown sugar butternut squash and top with Ghost Chile Cream Sauce.
***
In addition to the Ghost Chile Cream Sauce, I made a Ghost Chile Salt. I simply toasted the chilies in a skillet on a high heat for a few minutes and placed it in my spice grinder along with a little bit of orange peel. Then, I added the coarse sea salt (1/3 cup of salt for 6 ghost chilies) and pulsed it together with the chilies a few times. This salt would be a great addition to many different dishes according to an individual taste. Packaged in a nice container, it would also make a nice holiday gift for someone that likes spicy foods!
