Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce
It was the unusual shape of Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce bottle that first caught my eye. The extended trunk, pinched neck and wide flat top was reminiscent of the short-lived Roho™ line of Thermos® hydration canisters, and it stood out as more exotically distinctive than other brands of hot sauce on my grocer's shelf. A quick review of the ingredients listed on the label clinched the deal. Lemon is the #3 ingredient, and I'm a sucker for lemon. Into the shopping cart it went.
Nando's is an international restaurant chain featuring a Mozambican-Portuguese cuisine, particularly specializing in spicy chicken dishes. They are headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and have franchise locations in many parts of the world, but a sparse presence in the United States. As their nearest location is 2,000 miles from where I live I had not yet heard of Nando's until I happened upon their signature hot sauce at a nearby grocery store. A bit of internet sleuthing reveals that while Nando's marketing strategies may not be very savory, a sampling of this sauce suggests that their food certainly is.
Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce is named for the African Birds Eye Chili, also known regionally as Piri Piri or Peri Peri, a Swahili word for "pepper pepper" and it is this chili along with the Serrano pepper that gives this sauce its enjoyably spicy heat, though this is perhaps not the predominant flavor factor in the Peri-Peri Sauce. True to its Mozambican-Portuguese heritage in spotlighting a notable citrus infusion throughout its cuisine Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce features a potent dose of lemon juice in combination with white vinegar to bring a characteristically sharp and zesty bite. The addition of onion, garlic and the aforementioned chili peppers makes for a remarkable flavor explosion that sizzles on the tongue and leaves a satisfying, mildly stinging aftertaste. Though not particularly scorching this is a truly delicious hot sauce.
As Nando's is predominately recognized for its chicken dishes it is understandable that this Peri-Peri Hot Sauce is designed to pair especially well with chicken, and it does so, perfectly. Over the course of taste testing I also found it to be particularly effective in spicing up pork dishes and fish tacos. Perhaps my favorite use was as a sauce base for vegetable stir fry, mixed with chopped onions, fresh garden squash and assorted greens. It makes for an incomparably delicious, light and zesty meal, though I would caution using the sauce sparingly in this case so as not to overwhelm the natural flavor of the fresh vegetables.
Ingredients list and nutritional facts label on Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce bottle
While I'm on the subject of recipe ingredient ratios I would be remiss to not address a concern regarding the sodium level of Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce. It is no secret that many chain restaurants routinely emphasize sodium and sodium derivatives as simple or low-cost means to achieving flavor satisfaction. Several restaurant-branded hot sauce recipes I've sampled likewise model this practice. At 560 milligrams per serving the sodium level of Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce is abnormally high for hot sauce. On a per-serving basis this is approximately 4-8x the sodium level of many popular hot sauces, and 40-50x the amount in some sauces I most prefer. In all fairness most hot sauces typically qualify 1 teaspoon as a single serving of their sauce, and on a per-teaspoon basis the sodium level of Nando's Peri-Peri Hot Sauce is safely comparable to many. The difference is that Nando's lists their per-serving quantity as 4 teaspoons. It is intended to be liberally slathered over your dish. Taken at their recommended dosage results in a single serving sodium intake of nearly 1/4th the daily recommend amount, which seems obscenely high for a food condiment. Consumers with high blood pressure, heart conditions or an otherwise low sodium tolerance should consider these factors before so indulging.
Other than this "Hot" sauce Nando's also offers "Mild", "Medium", and "Extra Extra Hot" versions of their Peri-Peri Sauce as well as variations that emphasize particular flavors and spices. If you'd like to sample any of these sauces for yourself but are nowhere near a Nando's franchise you can purchase them via the Amazon Affiliate links below. If you've already tried Nando's Peri-Peri Sauce or have eaten at any of their franchise establishments I'd love to know about your experience in the comments below.
