--- title: "Every dish has a face, and other peri-hot insights" description: "Everybody has their own peri-peri (or piri-piri) sauce, right? What’s your peri-peri secret? We asked for your hot tips. You sent them." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "FOOD BABBLE" author: "TGIFood Readers" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/tgifood-readers/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-07-your-searing-peri-peri-sauces-and-hot-tips/" published: "2026-08-07T09:45:00" updated: "2026-08-07T10:04:00" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 836 --- # Every dish has a face, and other peri-hot insights > Everybody has their own peri-peri (or piri-piri) sauce, right? What’s your peri-peri secret? We asked for your hot tips. You sent them. By TGIFood Readers · Published 7 August 2026, 11:45 SAST · Updated 7 August 2026, 12:04 SAST ## Key points - TGIFood readers chimed in with their peri‑peri hot takes — from pantry hacks to family heirloom sauces — proving everyone’s got a spicy opinion (and recipe) worth trying. - Rae Earl shares a Spillers‑style peri oil recipe: sun‑dry 1.2kg fresh red chillies, infuse in 750ml hot canola/sunflower oil for 4-6 weeks; cost worked out about R45.50 per 250ml – a budget rescue. - Inge Niklaus offers a Hungarian twist – roast red pepper, cherry tomatoes and chillies, blitz with honey, balsamic, olive oil and hot paprika/Erős Pista – “every dish must have a face”, she says; ideal for grilled meats, veg and bread. - Eric Carter’s no‑fuss braai favourite: finely chopped onion, thinly sliced birdseye chillies (seeds in), sliced garlic covered with olive oil – improves after a few days and is guaranteed to spark debate at the next rugby braai. Send us your own peri secrets. ## Content Everyone has their strong opinion about what constitutes a good old peri-peri (or piri-piri) sauce, and TGIFood readers are no exception. Here are some of the responses we received to our recent Food Babble hot topic. ### **Rae Earl’s chilli-hot sauce** *From Rae Earl:* Your Karoo and Eastern Cape missives go down well with both myself and a life-long retired MD friend of 72 years standing since primary school days. He emigrated to the UK from PE about 20 years ago after having a successful practice there. He used to assist Andy Hillock in numerous surgery operations in PE, so, your news of food adventures in your neck of the woods and the Karoo always go down well with him, nostalgia being a foremost aide-mémoire for an expat SA citizen. Being a hot sauce fanatic, I offer my very simple alternative to a food additive that became prohibitively expensive here before mostly disappearing from local shelves recently. Labelled as “Spillers Peri-Peri” sunflower oil, the last time I was able to purchase it, the price was around R95.50 for a 250ml bottle, ouch! ChatGPT tells me that international retailers sell Spillers for a scary $7.95 to $9.95 per 250ml bottle ie. R135 to R170. I’m finding life bereft of much culinary enjoyment thanks to today’s scarcity and the price of Spillers as both a cooking aid or simply pouring it over a plate of hot and juicy food instead of chutney or tomato sauce, both of which I find are destructive elements of the first order to most food flavours. This oil adds heat without affecting food flavour in any way. Here’s my recipe and the finished product is virtually indistinguishable from Spillers (both in taste and appearance, i.e. hot, light red and crystal clear), at less than half of the cost, and it’s mega simple to make. **Ingredients** 750ml canola or sunflower oil 5 x 250g punnets fresh red chillies (1.2kg). The chillies must be firm and fresh, not wrinkled. **Method** Cut off the stalk ends of the chillies and halve them lengthwise. Do not remove the seeds. I find straight small-sized scissors are easiest and quickest to work with. Place the sliced chillies seed side up in a flat shallow baking pan without overlapping them. Two pans work fine. Place the pans of chillies in full sun and allow to dry to snappable crispness. This may require 8 to 16 hours (usually two days) of full sunlight exposure. Or, a dehydrator works 100%. Heat the oil in a microwave at 100% power until it’s really hot but not smoking. Using 2 x 375ml sterilised glass bottles one at a time in the microwave with lids removed is best. Remove bottles from the microwave and add the dried chillies to the oil equally. Do not remove the seeds ,which are essential for heat. Tighten the lids and store the bottled chillies in any handy cupboard for about 4-6 weeks. Turn bottles every week or so to mix the seeds and distribute heat. Extra fresh oil can be added later if heat reduction is required. Warning: Avoid rubbing your eyes and wash hands thoroughly after slicing the chillies. Cost of finished product: Sunflower oil 750ml: R36.95 5 punnets chillies @ R19.95: R99.75 Total: R136.70 for 750ml peri-peri oil or R45.50 per 250ml Good luck and enjoyment in your newfound health and approaching culinary events and travels. Kind regards Rae Earl *From Inge Niklaus:* ### **Every Dish Needs a Face** Coming from a Hungarian family, my father always used to say: “Every dish must have a face.” By that he meant that every savoury dish should have colour, character and warmth. (Only puddings were excused!) His secret was always paprika. South Africans might call it peri-peri for adding a fiery kick, but for my father, it was always Hungarian paprika. ### **Hungarian roasted pepper and paprika sauce** **Ingredients** 1 large red bell pepper An equal amount of cherry tomatoes Fresh chilli peppers, to your taste 1-2 teaspoons honey A splash of balsamic vinegar A little olive oil Hot Hungarian paprika or Erős Pista (Hungarian hot pepper paste), to taste **Method** Roast the red pepper, cherry tomatoes and chillies in a hot oven until the skins are blistered and slightly blackened. Transfer everything to a blender. Add the honey, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Blend until smooth. Stir in hot Hungarian paprika powder or a spoonful of Erős Pista, depending on how much heat you like. Serve with grilled meat, vegetables, potatoes, pasta or simply spread on fresh bread. As my father would have said: “Now your dish has a face!” ### **Eric’s way with peri-peri** *From Eric Carter:* Eric’s input is sweet and to the point: Finely chop a medium onion Slice birdseye red chillies at about 2mm intervals (seeds and all) Finely slice 4 or 5 cloves of garlic Cover with olive oil Improves after a few days. I get chastised if I don’t bring this to our rugby braais. [Send us](mailto:tony@dailymaverick.co.za) more of your peri-peri or hot sauce ideas. **DM**