Name: Fried Serrano Pepper Salsa
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 cup Serrano peppers (chopped (3 ounces)); 1/3 cup white onion (chopped); 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil; ½ cup of water; Salt to taste

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Fried Serrano Pepper Salsa

I don’t know why it took me so long to post this recipe on the blog. This is the way my mom makes it at home. It’s a very popular salsa from the Gulf of Mexico region. Restaurants in large cities like Tampico, Poza Rica and the Port of Veracruz, will offer this type of salsa along with other salsas on their tables. I grew up adding this, easy salsa, to my mom’s sopes, and to other of the many dishes she prepared with corn masa.

If you like hot salsas, you will love this one… well, if you are lucky to find good Serrano peppers, because I don’t know what is going on with the pepper growers in this country, but every year I have to hunt for good quality peppers, some of them taste like you are eating grass and not something spicy hot.

The Serrano pepper is found almost everywhere in México. It is also known as “Chile verde” and some people eat it raw in small bites. It is used to make salsa raw, cooked, roasted or fried, as in this case. In some regions of the country, like in Tamaulipas or the south of Veracruz, this delicious salsa is used in the everyday cooking
instead of the jalapeño pepper that is more common in central Mexico. It is usually very spicy, and measures about 6 cm long and 1cm wide. I hope you can find it in your area at the Latin grocery stores.

How to make Fried Serrano Pepper Salsa

JUMP TO FULL INSTRUCTIONS

DIRECTIONS:

Place chopped peppers and ½ cup of water in your blender. Process for a few seconds until you get a semi-coarse texture. If you over blend it and comes out with a fine texture, it’s fine. No problem with that. (Please check the ingredients list below)
Heat oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion, fry for about one minute, just enough time for it to get transparent.
Now, pour the Serrano peppers mixture. Once it starts boiling, reduces heat and covers the frying pan. If the liquid reduces while cooking adds a few tablespoons of water. It will take about 8 minutes to cook. You will know the salsa is ready when the peppers have changed from a bright green color into a light pale green color, and the oil will float on the surface. Season with salt and enjoy.