Salsa macha
Salsa macha is a Veracruz chile oil made from fried dried chiles, garlic and salt, sometimes with peanuts, that separates into a red oil over a sediment of crunchy chile. It originated mainly in Orizaba.
Description
Larousse records salsa macha as a homemade chile sauce from Veracruz, mainly Orizaba. Its version calls for fried serrano and morita chiles ground in a molcajete with garlic and salt, with fried peanuts as an option. It can be made as a paste or as a liquid that includes olive oil.
Character
Left to stand, the sauce separates and the ground chile settles under the oil. Cooks either spoon off just the colored oil or stir it up for a thicker sauce. It is commonly spread on tortillas or bread.
Use
Because it is oily rather than watery, salsa macha keeps well and can be spooned over tacos, eggs or bread without making them soggy.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup neutral oil, or part olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, sliced
- 30 g dried morita chiles, stemmed
- 10 g dried chiles de árbol, stemmed
- 1/3 cup peanuts (optional)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vinegar (optional)
Steps
- Warm the oil over low heat and fry the garlic and peanuts until just golden; remove.
- Fry the chiles in the same oil for about 30 seconds, until fragrant and a shade darker, taking care not to burn them. Let the oil cool slightly.
- Pulse the chiles, garlic, peanuts and salt in a blender or crush in a molcajete to coarse flakes.
- Stir back into the oil with the vinegar, cool and store in a jar.
Keeps several weeks in a closed jar.
Reviews
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See also
References
- "Salsa macha". Larousse Cocina (Diccionario enciclopédico de la Gastronomía Mexicana). Retrieved 2026-10-10.