I would have never guessed that I would be doing a side note on hot sauce. For many years in Ibaraki, different flavored hot sauces were scarce. You had Tobasco and... that's about it. Sure, Yamaya and Kaldi had some different hot sauces available, but nothing eye-catching. The variety of different hot sauces was nonexistent for a while, and then one man showed up at the Tsukuba Village Market and decided to bring a world of different hot sauces to Ibaraki. That man is named Norifumi, Nori for short, or as I like to call him "The Hot Sauce Man," and he is the owner of Hot Sauce Bar.
Hot Sauce Bar
Hot Sauce Bar is a traveling hot sauce stall and online store. It goes to different events around Japan and introduces different hot sauces to Japanese and foreign people alike. Nori just doesn't have one or two hot sauces available, he has quite a different variety of hot sauces from different countries. Hot sauces from America, Australia, Canada, and even Japan. Look at that picture. There are twenty different hot sauces on display, arranged from "somewhat" spicy on the left side all the way to "tasty but you will feel it bad" spicy on the right. Hot Sauce Bar usually appears at the Village Market once every three months or so. When the hot sauce man shows up, it is a good chance to try different hot sauces. All you have to do is tell Nori that you are interested in a certain hot sauce, he will give you a paper spoon, and let you try the hot sauce of your choice. I highly recommend having a drink or ice cream ready if you are going to try different sauces. Don't do what I did and have coffee, that just makes the burning sensation in your mouth much stronger and last longer.
I have bought a few different hot sauces from Hot Sauce Bar which I would like to share with you.
Dill Pickle Serrano
This was the very first hot sauce I bought from Hot Sauce Bar. I have bought it twice. The Dill Pickle Serrano has a strong taste of, you guessed it, dill pickle but with a spicy twist to it which is excellent. I usually pour this hot sauce on a sandwich, salad, or burger. It gives my sandwich that pickles taste but with a kick of excitement. The spicyness level isn't too bad. I got a small surprise of spice the first time I tried it but I am pretty used to it by now. My wife loves this hot sauce and usually adds it to her salad.
Pineapple Habanero
Guess what this hot sauce tastes like. If you said pineapple, then you sir or madam are correct. I would never have thought of making pineapple spicy, but it works. It doesn't only work, it works like a dream. I have added this hot sauce to salad and burgers and it made both of those dishes ten times better. I have also added it to pizza. Before you start rioting over pineapple pizza, know that this sauce completely changes that concept. It is pineapple but the spice to the pineapple is just so perfect. The spice and pineapple are like a perfect couple making anything it touches reach its full potential. The spice level for this sauce is very doable and I highly recommend it.
Caribbean Style Mango Habanero
This is the hot sauce I recently bought when Hot Sauce Bar came to the Village Market in October. The Caribbean Style Mango Habanero. Think of it as a sort of jerk chicken in a bottle with mango. That being said, I highly recommend putting a few drops of this on some grilled chicken. I just recently did that and my god, this hot sauce brought my chicken to an incredible level of deliciousness. I have yet to pour this sauce on anything else, but I am ready to pair this sauce with some other dishes.
Smoken Ghost
There is one sauce I haven't bought yet but have tried a few times. That is the Smoken Ghost hot sauce. This sauce has a smokey BBQ sauce flavor which is excellent. The spice level may taste weak at first, but it builds as time goes by and lights your mouth on fire. I was lucky enough one time to get a few drops of this hot sauce on a High-Five burger and even though I needed a lot of water after consuming my burger, it made my burger oh so great. The Smoken Ghost sells out quickly so I hope to buy it soon.
I am always happy to see the Hot Sauce Man and Hot Sauce Bar in Ibaraki. It is a fun and spicy experience to try different hot sauces from different countries. I am not sure when the next time the Hot Sauce Bar will be at the Tsukuba Village Market, but Nori does open the Hot Sauce Bar in Tokyo's Aoyama and Setagaya's markets on Saturdays and Sundays. I also forgot to mention that Hot Sauce Bar sells maple syrup from Canada. I have not tried it yet but I have heard it is excellent.
Until next time hot sauce man. I am looking forward to trying some different hot sauces and finally getting my hands on the Smoken Ghost.
For more information on Hot Sauce Bar, check out their Instagram page:
If you would like to buy some hot sauce on their online store, check out the link below:
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