Ají picante is a spicy sauce from my hometown Antioquia. We keep it in the refrigerator all year round. It is an absolute must for Colombian Empanadas and it is the perfect sauce to flavor soups, stews and the perfect dipping sauce for Patacones. Growing up in my house we used it in almost every dish my mom made and it is my dad’s favorite condiment.
INGREDIENTS
1 seeded small red habanero pepper
½ cup white vinegar
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
½ cup chopped scallions
½ cup chopped tomato
DIRECTIONS
1. Put the vinegar, water and habanero pepper in a blender for 2 minutes.
2. Place the remaining ingredients in a bowl and stir to mix. Add the vinegar and habanero mix to the bowl and mix well.
3. Pour in a glass jar and cover. Refrigerate up to 10 days.
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like something I’ll have to try. very similar to some of the hot sauces we have in the Caribbean.
This is exactly what my husband would have wanted today – he was asking for something really spicy – this sauce looks excellent!
This sauce is really spicy, but it is delicious.
Try it!
This looks great…I’ll have to try it!
love hot sauces, would this be considered salsa verde? Coriander is one of my favorite herbs
I must make this!
LL
Hey at last I found the Colombian aji recepie. This is the ral deal.
Many thanks
My sister-in-law makes this. She is from Columbia. I LOVE THIS!!!
Thank you everyone for your comments!
Thanks soooo much for these recipes!! I am a gringo married to a wonderful Colombiano!
This sauce has become a staple in our home. My in-laws absolutely loved it too!! Thanks for affording me the opportunity to cook genuine Colombian food for my family! 
Thank you for the nice comment, Pam!
by the way….. I’ve wanted the recipe for this sauce for a looooonng time!!
Erica,
I am glad I found your website. Thank you for taking your time to add links to the products, I am going to cook the empanadas tomorrow, sounds like a better alternative than to pay $2 per each at my local restaurant.
Two requests: Recipe for “Papa Chorreada”, and adding a “Print Version” to the recipes.
Maria Mabel- I have the papas chorreadas recipe in my list and this is the link: http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com/2009/02/potatoes-with-cheese-sauce-papas_11.html
I am working in the print version.
Thank you for your comment!
my boyfriend is Colombian and I went to visit him in the summer. i have been looking for an aji recipe for a long time. im so glad i finally found one!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I too has been wanting to know how to do it, I’m Colombian and my husband is american but he loves empanadas with the aji sauce!
Thanks, Erica! I travel with a gentleman from Colombia periodically and we invariably end up at a Colombian restaurant (if we can find one) while we’re on the road. I’ve become addicted to the Bandeja Paisa, but it’s this sauce that I’ve been trying to get for a few years. Of the places we’ve visited, no one is willing to share the recipe. I’d give you a huge hug if I could, thank you!!!
Is there a mild version?
Sara- Add less hot pepper.
oh my gosh thank u so much for these wonderful recipes… im married to a very demanding colombian and you have truly helped me alot. you must be a wonderful cook erica! take care and thank you soooooo much
your awesome!
Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes Erica! My boyfriend is the happiest Colombian you will ever meet now. He is from Bogota. Of course, I cant cook it exactly like he used to have of his mothers cooking in Colombia, but still the same, he says it is amazingly precise! He tells me how much it reminds him of home and its all thanks to you! Thanks so much for giving us the true Colombian recipes!
thank you – this is perfect aji! my husband lived in colombia for 5yrs (i visited over a dozen times) and this reminded me EXACTLY of the aji i loved and enjoyed so much!
i made it 3 times this week!!!
Wow!!!! This is soo good. I know it will be a staple in my house. Can not thank you enough for all your work on this website.
I have been searching for this aji for months to enjoy with my Colombian novio and was delighted to find a recipe for it. Thanks so much!!
I couldn’t find habanero peppers so I made it with a jalapeno instead. It wasn’t as spicy but it was good enough. My husband thought it had too much vinegar but I thought it was just perfect.
mmm Aji!!! but aji is really from el Valle del Cauca.
Carolina- We have variations of ají and empanadas all over the country!
OMG! Mujer…. acabo de hacer aji y me quedo delicioso…. Thank you so much for such a great recipe. Brought me back to Colombia
Instead of habanero pepper, I used ground Cayene pepper ( It was so difficult to find habanero pepper by me
) and it came delicious.
I live in Costa Rica and am fascinated by the fusion of foods from cultures in the country. I haven’t encountered this recipe before in this country, but I did see a reference to its use as a condiment with a oven-roasted ripe plantain, stuffed with cheese. However, it looked like the aji picante was run through a blender in that case. I will try this recipe soon. Several members of our house like spicy food, including me. Thanks for sharing this!