Salsa Macha
Salsa macha is Mexico's chili oil — but denser, crunchier, and more complex than the Asian version most people know. It comes from Veracruz and Oaxaca, where dried chilies, raw peanuts, sesame seeds, and garlic are fried together in neutral oil, then roughly blended into a dark, chunky paste. The name comes from the Spanish word for 'brave' or 'bold', and the flavor earns it: smoky, nutty, fruity from the dried chilies, with a heat that lingers rather than spikes. One jar changes how you think about eggs, tacos, grilled meats, soups, and avocado toast. It keeps for a month in the fridge and gets better after a day.
Ingredients
- 6 dried guajillo chiles
- 4 dried ancho chiles
- 8 dried chiles de arbol
- 80 graw unsalted peanuts
- 2 tbspsesame seeds
- 5 garlic cloves
- 200 mlneutral oil
- 1 tbspapple cider vinegar or sherry vinegar
- ½ tspfine salt
- ½ tspdried Mexican oregano
Method
- Prep the chilies. Remove the stems from all the dried chilies. For guajillos and anchos, also remove the seeds — they contribute bitterness more than heat when fried. For the chiles de arbol, keep the seeds for a hot result or remove for medium. Tear all the chilies into rough pieces, about 2 to 3 cm. Have everything measured and ready before you start — the frying process moves quickly.
- Fry the garlic, peanuts, and sesame. Pour the oil into a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic cloves, peanuts, and sesame seeds together. Fry, stirring frequently, until the garlic turns golden and the peanuts begin to color — 4 to 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate.
- Fry the chilies. Add all the torn dried chilies to the same oil. This is the most time-sensitive step — dried chilies fry in 30 to 60 seconds and go from fragrant and puffed to acrid and burnt with alarming speed. Stir constantly. You want them to darken slightly and become fragrant. As soon as they start to puff and smell toasty, remove the pan from the heat and let the chilies continue in the residual heat for another 30 seconds. Transfer the chilies and all the oil to a heatproof bowl or blender jug.
- Blend. Add the fried garlic, peanuts, and sesame to the chili oil. Add the vinegar, salt, and oregano if using. Let everything cool for 5 to 10 minutes — blending very hot oil in a sealed blender can be dangerous. Pulse to a coarse texture. Salsa macha should not be smooth — you want visible flecks of chili skin, roughly chopped peanuts, and sesame seeds throughout.
- Rest and store. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar. Transfer to a clean glass jar. Let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour before serving — the flavors come together as it rests, and the day-old salsa is noticeably better. Store in the fridge with a thin layer of oil over the surface for 3 to 4 weeks. Take it out 20 minutes before use so the oil loosens.
FAQ
Both are oil-based condiments built around fried chili and garlic, but from different culinary traditions. Chili crisp comes from Sichuan, China: Chinese dried chilies, fermented black beans, Sichuan peppercorn — numbing, acidic, pungent. Salsa macha comes from Veracruz and Oaxaca, Mexico: Mexican dried chilies, peanuts, sesame, vinegar — fruity, nutty, earthy, smoky. Same format, completely different flavor profiles.
Rate this
Keep browsing
More dishes from the Mexican archive — picked by overlap with what you're cooking now.
Join the conversation
Comments (1)
Сальсу мачу я впервые попробовал в Веракрусе, и с тех пор держу банку в холодильнике постоянно. В отличие от китайского chili crisp, здесь главный вкус — не жгучесть, а ореховая глубина от арахиса и тёмных чили (гуахильо, анчо). Два правила: масло должно быть нейтральным (не оливковым), а чили жарятся всего 30-60 секунд — пригоревшие чили превращают всё блюдо в горечь без возврата. Кладу на яичницу, тако, запечённую цветную капусту, даже пиццу.