This is one helluva ketchup meets brown sauce baby. There is nothing like Chilli Haw Ketchup to put some fire in the belly this winter. It’s got an amazing taste, sweet and sour, peppery, tangy, umami. I remember Chinese haw flakes from when I was a child. This is that taste but with a grown up kick. Use as a condiment, marinade or just with cheese.
Ingredients
750 grams haws (no stalks)
500 ml vinegar (homemade or apple cider)
500ml water
250 grams dark brown sugar
2 red chilli peppers
Black pepper to taste
Directions
Simmer the haws and the chilli peppers in the water and vinegar until the flesh is really soft. Strain the mixture through a wire sieve. Push the berries around the sieve with the back of a spoon, trying to get as much of the pulp as possible through the sieve. (An ideal job to delegate!)
Return to the pan and add the sugar and black pepper. Bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce is thick. Pour into sterilised glass jars or bottles with a reasonably wide neck. Keep in a dark cupboard – the flavour just keeps on improving with age.
Love this ketchup. We have lots of hawthorn hedges nearby so it has been great finding a good recipe for the haws. Great flavour and acts as a good substitute for tomato ketchup or brown sauce. Thanks for sharing!
Is there an alternative to brown sugar for this recipe ? Thanks
You could use coconut sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses… or, if you don’t like sugar at all, use a sweet fruit paste and have a runnier consistency.
You can use any sugar. Honey too although that’s more expensive and not as thick.
Are the haws from the hawthorn tree?
Yes, haws are the name for the berries of the hawthorn tree.