hot pepper Archives

Sultan Moroccan Sardines with Tomato Sauce & Hot Peppers

These Sultan Moroccan Sardines with Tomato Sauce & Hot Peppers sounded appetizing. I'd had mixed results with similar ones before. This brand came to my attention as a "recommended" product on Amazon. I assume the algorithm has noticed by now that I search for tinned fish on there frequently. They were on sale for $5, so I gave them a shot.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.8/5.

I was slightly concerned they might be old stock, but the can indicates they were packed in the last six months, and with an expiration date of 2029.

Some sizeable fish, packed in there tightly. Looks like three, but this is one of those deep cans, so there's more than meets the eye. No apparent scales, and the skin is reasonably intact.

No aroma to speak of, neither fish nor sauce. A sip of the sauce is brightly tomato-y, but no heat at all. The ingredients don't list anything seasoning the sauce other than the alleged chili pepper.

Let's Dig In

I was able to extract them all fairly intact. There were six in total, a generous portion. I poured the rest of the sauce from the can over everything. There was no physical pepper in the bottom.

Trying just a bite of fish with a glop of the tomato sauce, but still getting no heat. I found the meat tender and with a good sardine flavor. The salt level is good, an average 310mg. I've had good experiences with Moroccan sardines before, and this one added another one.

Half a can in, I still couldn't help thinking the tomato sauce was far more bland than promised. A few dashes of Valentina did the trick. It had just enough heat to kick up the tomato sauce with a subtle amount of heat, while at the same time not masking the flavor of the fish.

Main Takeaways

Nice meaty, tender fish
Generous portion
Bland sauce, but nothing a little hot sauce couldn't fix

Brand: Sultan
Description: Sardines in tomato sauce & hot pepper
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Morocco
Source: FAO34, Eastern Central Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.4 oz.
Price Range: $5

Fishwife Sardines with Hot Pepper

DeenLeave a comment

I picked up these Fishwife Sardines with Hot Pepper at Whole Foods the last time they were on sale there. I've worked my way through about half their catalog of tinned fish so far. I wanted to see how they compared to the version with preserved lemon. Let's see how these are.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 5/5.

Another of those tough to open cans. These look really nice. Silvery skin with no scales apparent. They still have their pelvic fins, which normally aren't prickly, so they don't present a problem. The aroma is of a very fresh sardine. A sip of the EVOO is neutral until the pepper sneaks up at the back of the throat. The pepper has a different note than the usual piri-piri I'm used to. The carton just says "hot pepper".

A small taste finds the pepper's heat hasn't really translated to the fish. Nonetheless, they are reasonably firm yet tender, and have a really good sardine flavor.

Let's Eat

There were four stocky pilchards. One I ate by itself to get a sense of the quality. They resisted being pried from the can, so they got a little roughed up.

Out over rice, there's the pepper. It doesn't look any different than what you find in most cans of spicy sardines. I also poured about half the oil remaining in the can over all of it. I figured it would be the best chance of maximizing the hot pepper experience.

Working through it, the pepper level was steady, and didn't become fatiguing. The meat on these is tender and not dry at all. The salt level was OK. It seemed less than the average 340mg. listed, though.

Main Takeaways

Top quality sardine, hot pepper or no
Initial impression was of possibly more heat than necessary, but didn't turn out to be the case
Spendy, but a bargain if found on sale

Reasonably priced at Amazon, but only in a 4-pack assortment.

Brand: Fishwife Tinned Seafood Co.
Description: Sardines with hot pepper
Species: Pilchards
Country of Origin: Spain
Source: FAO27, Northeast Atlantic
Skin/Bones: Yes/Yes
Net Wt: 4.2 oz.
Price Range: $8

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Dong Won Light Standard and Hot Pepper Tuna

DeenLeave a comment

Two selections from Dong Won, a South Korean tuna producer. I watched a video of their operation, which covered from catch to can. Obviously a promotional video, but they were putting together gift sets packaged in sampler boxes tucked inside vinyl carrying cases with Velcro closures. I figured this must be some premium stuff. A local Asian market stocks it, so I decided to take a chance, and bought a couple of cans each of the Light Standard Tuna and Hot Pepper Tuna. But, at only $2 for a 100gm. can, I didn't set my expectations too high.

Dong Won Light Standard Tuna

Initial impression upon opening the can: 3/5.

The can was fairly full. I was immediately hit with a tuna fishy aroma. Trying to pick out chunks, I was unable to do so. Just pieces, flakes. The flavor was that of an above average supermarket canned tuna. I tried a little Salsa Espinaler on it, and that perked it up a little.

Google Lens was able to translate some of the Korean verbiage to reveal it's skipjack tuna. Most of the wording on the can was too small and dense to be reliably translated.

The Gift Set

I thought maybe the stuff in the video was their "above standard" tuna, some that warranted inclusion in a "premium gift set". I watched it again, but it had 12 cans of the Light Standard, and 4 rectangular tins of something I couldn't identify. Until I found this. Unfathomably, it's ham.

At this point, I decided to just move on and try the hot pepper version.

Dong Won Hot Pepper Tuna

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4/5.

But what the heck are those white chunks in there? Potato? In tuna? Otherwise, it looked appetizing enough. The chile pepper seasoning overpowered any tuna fishy aroma. Actually, it was quite tasty, not too hot.

But I can come up with no reason why there should be any potato or even any other filler in a can of tuna. Especially considering it's not mentioned on the can (not that I can read it). I looked it up online, and there's also carrot and onion in there as well. Quite odd. I might try this one again if I happen to go to the market for something else.

Also packed in 150gm. cans. See it at Amazon.

Brand: Dong Won
Description: Light Standard and Hot Pepper Tuna
Species: Katsuwonus pelamis
Country of Origin: South Korea
Source: FAO61, Northwest Pacific
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.17 oz.
Price Range: $2

Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil with Hot Peppers

DeenLeave a comment

Picked up these Brunswick Sardines in Olive Oil with Hot Peppers by mistake thinking they were the Sardine Fillets in Olive Oil (and knowing that they were actually herring). I had tried the Boneless Skinless (Pilchards) in Olive Oil with Mild Red Pepper, so it was a chance to at least try these.

Initial impression upon opening the can: 4.5/5.

The package lists serrano pepper as the heat source. Although there are only a few bits of it in the can, the heat is quite pronounced. (As opposed to the whole peppers in the Mild Red Pepper pilchards.) I'm used to spicy foods, and these had me reaching for a plain cracker to tone down the after-burn.

The other thing I noticed that I may have overlooked on the plain "in olive oil" version is that these aren't really "in" olive oil. They just have droplets of oil on the surface of whatever brine/juice these are packed in. Olive oil is the second ingredient on the package listing, so one would assume it should be the second-most amount of the overall make-up. But I really don't see it. Also, "serrano peppers" should really just say "pepper" as it's only the slightest bits of pieces and seeds. But they do really spice it up. I can't imagine how hot they'd be if there was any more.

Anyway, if you like the heat, these might fill the bill for you.

See it on Amazon

Brand: Bumble Bee Seafoods/Brunswick
Description: Sardine Fillets in Olive Oil with Hot Peppers
Species: Herring
Country of Origin: Canada
Source:
Skin/Bones: No/No
Net Wt: 3.75 oz.
Price Range: $2