Last week we talked a little about how some people feel that no matter what chile they might use, it will be too hot. I mentioned balance and moderation, but there are a few other things to know before we really get cooking.
The reason chiles are hot? Capsaicin. It’s tasteless and odorless, but is the natural ingredient in chile peppers responsible for the heat factor.
Sometimes the level of capsaicin varies, even in some of the mildest chiles. To prevent the burn from the heat, you can wear rubber gloves (any thickness from medical-type to up-to-the-elbows yellow dishwashing gloves). Be sure if you don’t wear gloves while handling spicy chiles to not touch other body parts or areas of skin, especially the eyes and mouth, or you could end up feeling an uncomfortable burning sensation.
And to combat the heat but still get the flavor that makes each chile unique, remove the seeds and veins, where the capsaicin mainly lies.
Another factor in how you use chiles in the kitchen will be whether you use them in fresh form, roasted or dried. While using fresh chiles is often not as scary for some, a lot of people are apprehensive about using dried chiles. The easiest way to cook with dried chiles is by heating them on a comal or griddle and then soaking them in hot water until they soften enough to be ground up in a food processor or a blender.
You can also remove the veins and seeds from dried chiles either before or after rehydrating them. Whether dried or fresh, just use a sharp knife to scrape out the seeds and remove any thick or stringy veins inside.
This basic guide to a few common chiles should help you navigate with ease.
FRESH CHILES
Poblano
These are large, broad green chiles with a dark green skin. They’re considered to be mild. They can be made into just about anything from sauce to chiles rellenos, and are also great as the “meat” of a vegetarian dish. My favorite way to use them, and one of the most popular recipes on my site, is in a dish called rajas con crema, where the chile is cut into strips and sauteed with onion, butter and Mexican cream (sort of like sour cream, but creamier and milder). The poblanos pictured here have been roasted and the skins removed to prepare them.
Serrano
Serrano are small, green chiles, similar to the jalapeño but with a little bit more heat. They’re considered mild to medium. They’re the most used fresh chile in my kitchen and are a staple. They’re part of the base of most of the green salsas I make at home. They are typically about the size of your finger but they can pack a lot of punch. They’re also great to just slice or dice and add them to scrambled eggs for breakfast or to a traditional dish like this fruity pico de gallo made with jicama.
Habanero
Small with orange skin and flesh, you’ll probably want to handle these peppers with gloves, and a little goes a long way. They’re usually sold fresh but can also be found dried. They’re considered hot to extreme heat. They are not the hottest chile that exists, though; they rank at only about one third of the heat of the ghost pepper (also known as bhut jolokia or naga jolokia) from India. My favorite way to use habaneros is to roast them on a comal or griddle and then use them in a salsa with roasted red tomatoes. Or, they also add some serious kick to the pickled red onion salsa to accompany cochinita pibil.
DRIED CHILES
Ancho
Ancho are dried poblano chiles and are considered to have mild heat. I like to soak these and put them in the food processor to make a paste that I can rub over red meats before grilling, especially cuts such as skirt steak (also known as arrachera). They’re also commonly used in the red sauce for enchiladas because they’re not very spicy, but have a really earthy flavor. A similar chile that can be used as a substitute is the mulato chile.
Chipotle
These are smoked red jalapeños. They can either be dry (usually sold packaged in cellophane and can be a light brown color), or in adobo sauce (cured and preserved with vinegar, tomato sauce or paste, ancho chiles and spices like the kind we use for chipotle mayo). Depending on the size of the dried chipotles, you may also see smaller ones called mora or morita chiles, and those will be more of a reddish-brown color. They’re considered medium heat. My favorite way to use chipotles is in a sauce for a Mexican meatball dish served over rice and beans, called albóndigas.
Pasilla
Pasilla are dried chilaca chiles (mild and similar to poblano but with thinner flesh and skin) and are sometimes also called chile negro. They can have somewhat of a sweet taste and are best used in salsas, mole, soups and stews. Long and skinny in shape, they’re one of the most popular dried chiles in Mexican cuisine and have a very earthy flavor. Pasilla chiles can also be substituted for ancho or mulato chiles in some dishes. My favorite way to use pasilla chiles is as a salsa in a dish called filete de res a la Chiapaneca, a steak dish that comes from the state of Chiapas.
Great job! I usually cook with green peppers but never eat them separately. Cant deal wit the picante!
I love chiles! very good information, I eat all of them but didn’t know what their names are
anyone afraid to cook with chiles needs to read this a few times and get over it. they’re such an incredible addition of flavor to latin (and other) foods… I especially love poblanos! que rico!
This is so helpful! I admit to being someone who never uses chiles but this makes the idea of using them less scary & totally do-able. Thanks!
“Capsaicin.” I like the sound of that word but not the heat that it brings! I always remove the seeds. Great advice!
Love the description of not only the look, feel and taste of the chiles, but also the kinds of dishes, and examples. I learned something, and this is a fantastic overview of chiles! Thanks, Maura, for such a helpful and practical post.
Sujeiry, I love to roast red bell peppers and eat them plain, but like you I also don’t care for green peppers alone. Taking the seeds and veins out should help with the picante though, should you want to give it a shot!
Eliana, whenever I see a chile I don’t recognize in the grocery store, I always write down what it is so I can go and research what it’s dried or fresh counterpart is! It’s a great way to get familiar with the names of each and every chile.
Bren, poblanos are my favorite too! I can’t imagine my life without them!
Carla, thanks so much for admitting your fear! Cooking with chiles can definitely be intimidating if you don’t know enough about them. I hope this guide helps. Let me know if you have any doubts and I’ll help you work through them. You can always tweet me or post to the FB page with urgent cooking questions
Aurelia, so glad you found this helpful! I think it’s really important to not only be able to identify ingredients while shopping, but also to know how the heck you’re supposed to use them, too!
I love cooking with chile and do very often as I’m sure you’ve noticed peaking in on my blog. Love reading all the descriptions. You hit the nail on the head!
Nicole, thanks so much for stopping by to leave a comment here. I love your blog and especially your recent chicken chile verde recipe! For anyone reading the comments here, go check out presleyspantry.com for an awesome recipe using chile güero, serrano and jalapeno – and with the ease of using a slow cooker! I’m totally going to pull out my slow cooker and try out your recipe soon – will let you know how it turns out
Maura,
You’re like the Reina of Chiles!
Thank you for the wonderful explanation. Even though I don’t usually use chiles in my cooking, I may have to re-think that now that I know your secret of getting those seeds out.
Besos,
Marta
Succinct, spot-on explanation! Thank you for helping 2 demystify chilies!
Thanks, Viviana! Now if you’ll promise me to try a few out…
Another excellent post, Maura! Lots of people don’t realize that Mexican cuisine is not the only one that includes chiles (or ajís, like we call them) in Latin America. In Peru, where I come from, we have tons of varieties and I love, love many of them. In fact, my mom just got back from Lima recently, and she brought me a few bags of ají amarillo molido which I just had with my grilled steak and rice and bean tonight! Delicioso!
My faves from your list are the habaneros and the serranos!
Haha, Marta, I love the new royal title you’ve bestowed upon me! Too funny. Since you don’t usually use chiles, you might want to start with something on the mild scale like poblanos. To make doubly sure that you’re comfortable with the heat level (or rather, the lack thereof because you don’t want them to be spicy), once you sweat roasted poblanos, tear the skins off and cut out the seeds and veins, you can also soak them in a water-vinegar solution for 30-60 minutes. That will take out most all of the remaining heat and they’ll have almost a sweet flavor. There’s a tutorial on The Other Side of The Tortilla that you can easily find by either typing “poblano” into the search box, or by using the Categories drop-down menu to find the “How-To” category. I did an entire start to finish of what they should look like and step-by-step instructions. I’ve done it so many times, that I can now actually cut one side slit in a poblano and remove the seeds and veins without having to open the whole sucker up. Tweet or FB me if you need any help trying it out or if you have questions from the tutorial!
Thanks for the comment! Besos.
Roxana, thanks for stopping by! Whenever I see a chile with a sign that says “ají” in the grocery store, I think of you! I don’t think I’ve ever had ají amarillo molido so I’ll have to see if I can find some and then get a recipe from you on how to use it. Your dinner sounds fantastic – I had a similar dinner the other night and it’s so simple to grill steak and pair it with rice and beans for a hearty meal to please the whole family.