Sriracha chili sauce. You either love or abstain from its spiciness, but there’s no doubt that it’s becoming a standard condiment at many a dining table these days. Inspired by southeast Asia, the long red chili pepper-based sauce — particularly the Huy Fong Foods brand’s Tuong Ot Sriracha, with its signature green-capped bottle adorned with a rooster — has gained such a popularity in parts of America that it now has a sort of cult status, akin to bacon. However, sriracha isn’t the only hot sauce worthy of a cult. If you’ve tried one particular hot sauce from Rwanda, you might be convinced that it has real potential to be the next “hot” item.
Meet Akabanga, a hot sauce so spicy that you only need one or two drops of it — and conveniently, it comes packaged in little eyedropper bottles. Akabanga is similar to other hot sauce recipes in sub-Saharan Africa calling for African bird’s eye chili peppers, otherwise known as “peri-peri” peppers — or “piri-piri” or “pili-pili,” depending on what country you’re in. When dining across sub-Saharan Africa, it’s not uncommon to find jars of these chilies infusing with oil on a dining table. However, you’re less likely to see one of these homemade blends in Rwanda because one local businessman, Sina Gérard, has perfected the golden recipe and mass-produced it under the brand “Akabanga.” When traveling through Rwanda, I encountered the peculiar eyedropper bottle of Akabanga at virtually every restaurant.
The recipe is simple: 80% pili-pili extract (when the peppers are yellow), and 20% vegetable oil. With that high percentage of peppers, there’s no doubt that Akabanga rates high on the heat index: in the range of 50,000 – 100,000 Scoville Heat Units. That’s quantitatively 20 times hotter than Tuong Ot Sriracha! However, like any hot sauce, that intensity can be controlled by the individual eater, by the amount put on food. When I was introduced to Akabanga, I could barely tolerate one drop but, over time, have worked my way up to as much as three — but not more.
I say “over time” because I have it in my kitchen; I actually brought two dozen little eyedropper bottles of Akabanga home to America with me, after a vacation in the now peaceful central African nation known for its gorilla trek tourism. But I wasn’t the only one; at the airport in Kigali, I overheard other travelers bragging about how many little Akabanga bottles they had packed in their check-in luggage to bring home. Akabanga is only limited exportation out of Rwanda — and only to places like Japan and the UK — so if you have the means of getting your hands on a bottle of Akabanga, know how special that is, and use its heat wisely.
Speaking of heat: is it merely the heat in Akabanga that could make it cult-worthy outside of a Rwandan airport? No. Akabanga does in fact, have a distinct, unique flavor to it — one unlike any found in a red chili pepper-based sauce — that’s hard to describe. It’s partly smoky and a little bitter when it registers with your taste buds. Whatever it is, it’s great on eggs, meats, stews, soups — anything that could use a little kick. Obviously, there’s a shock to your system with the initial hit of its heat, but it doesn’t linger like other hot sauces out there.
Final Verdict: 5 (out of 5) stars.
Look out, sriracha. If Akabanga ever makes it to the U.S.A., the heat will definitely be on. I mean, its little eyedropper bottle packaging alone could be cult-worthy, not to mention its unique flavor and kick.
Erik Trinidad is the author of Fancy Fast Food: Ironic Recipes with No Bun Intended, based off his popular food humor blog.
Title…
[...]usually posts some really intriguing stuff like this. If you’re new to this site[...]…
The Absent Game…
Concerning me and my husband we’ve owned much more MP3 gamers through the years than I can count, like Sansas, iRivers, iPods (common & touch), the Ibiza Rhapsody, etc. But, the last few years I’ve settled down to one line of gamers….
Joni Savcedo…
Steven Picking…
News info…
I was reading the news and I saw this really interesting info…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine some unrelated information, nevertheless seriously worth taking a appear, whoa did 1 discover about Mid East has got a lot more problerms too [...]…
Title…
[...]Here are some of the internet sites we advise for our visitors[...]…
Must read…
I saw this very great post yesterday…
swift code…
[...]Here is a good Weblog You might Come across Fascinating that we Encourage You[...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are numerous entirely not connected websites to ours, nonetheless, they may be certainly really worth going over[...]…
Must read…
I saw this really great article yesterday…
Title…
[...]very handful of internet sites that transpire to become detailed below, from our point of view are undoubtedly well really worth checking out[...]…
Souls in the Waves that…
Great Early morning, I just stopped in to go to your website and assumed I would say I liked myself….
girls leather shoes…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]that will be the finish of this report. Here you’ll uncover some websites that we believe you will enjoy, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
I spent a summer in Rwanda. I started with three drops per plate. By the end, I was pouring it all over like a local. This stuff is amazingly addictive. I'm rationing out my last dropper right now.
Title…
[...]just beneath, are various totally not related internet sites to ours, on the other hand, they may be surely really worth going over[...]…
own domain. hosting your blog on your…
own domain gives you much more control. this leads perfectly into the next point…2. customization – with the right theme and or plugins you can make your blog do just about anything. your website can be setup to look like a…
Title…
[...]Here is a good Blog You might Discover Interesting that we Encourage You[...]…
computers on sale…
[...]Here are a number of the web-sites we recommend for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]Here are some of the web-sites we recommend for our visitors[...]…
Yahoo results…
While searching Yahoo I discovered this page in the results and I didn’t think it fit…
Title…
[...]that could be the finish of this report. Right here you’ll discover some sites that we believe you’ll enjoy, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
Title…
[...]just beneath, are many absolutely not related sites to ours, on the other hand, they are certainly worth going over[...]…
Title…
[...]very couple of websites that come about to be comprehensive below, from our point of view are undoubtedly very well really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]the time to read or go to the content or websites we’ve linked to below the[...]…
Title…
[...]check below, are some entirely unrelated internet sites to ours, nevertheless, they’re most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Title…
[...]Here is a superb Blog You might Find Fascinating that we Encourage You[...]…
more about Buenos Aires…
[...]we came across a cool web page that you simply might enjoy. Take a look if you want[...]…
Title…
[...]that is the finish of this article. Here you’ll obtain some websites that we feel you’ll appreciate, just click the hyperlinks over[...]…
Title…
[...]Sites of interest we have a link to[...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll locate the link to some web-sites that we consider you need to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll uncover the link to some web-sites that we believe it is best to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]we like to honor numerous other world-wide-web web sites on the internet, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Underneath are some webpages really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]we like to honor quite a few other web web-sites on the net, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Beneath are some webpages worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]Here are some of the web-sites we suggest for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]we came across a cool website that you could appreciate. Take a look if you want[...]…
led flashlight…
[...]Here are a few of the web pages we suggest for our visitors[...]…
Title…
[...]Every once in a when we pick blogs that we read. Listed beneath would be the newest web sites that we choose [...]…
Title…
[...]below you’ll come across the link to some sites that we believe it is best to visit[...]…
Title…
[...]check beneath, are some absolutely unrelated sites to ours, having said that, they’re most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Title…
[...]very handful of sites that transpire to become in depth beneath, from our point of view are undoubtedly very well really worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]check below, are some entirely unrelated internet sites to ours, having said that, they may be most trustworthy sources that we use[...]…
Tumblr article…
I saw a writer talking about this on Tumblr and it linked to…
Title…
[...]here are some links to internet sites that we link to since we assume they may be worth visiting[...]…
Digg…
While checking out DIGG yesterday I noticed this…
Title…
[...]Every after inside a although we select blogs that we read. Listed beneath would be the latest websites that we select [...]…
Title…
[...]we prefer to honor lots of other world-wide-web internet sites around the internet, even when they aren’t linked to us, by linking to them. Under are some webpages worth checking out[...]…
Title…
[...]Wonderful story, reckoned we could combine several unrelated data, nevertheless seriously really worth taking a appear, whoa did a single learn about Mid East has got a lot more problerms at the same time [...]…
herpromo mega…
[...]we came across a cool web page that you simply could possibly delight in. Take a appear for those who want[...]…
Title…
[...]although web sites we backlink to below are considerably not associated to ours, we feel they’re in fact worth a go by way of, so possess a look[...]…