The first time I had this was when my friend dropped off some delicious Chả Ốc she made. She packed a small container of Chấm sauce to go with it.  Ever since then, I’ve been addicted to this sauce. I normally like to make my own sauces every time I make certain dishes that call for sauce, but this bottle is something I wouldn’t mind having in stock all the time on days I don’t feel like making my own cham sauce. I gotta admit, I don’t always feel like chopping up garlic and chili. then muddling it in sugar and mixing in the fish sauce and lime each time I eat a Vietnamese dish. Sometimes I just rather  pop open a bottle and pour it into a sauce bowl, ready to dip. Especially when I’m hungry! I love the addition of the cilantro to this sauce. It really adds a unique flavor to the traditional sauce.

If you love wings or hot sauce and haven’t heard of Hot Ones, a series on Youtube…now’s a good time to familiarize yourself with them. It’s basically a show where the host, Sean Evans, interviews different celebrities while they eat wings dabbed with a line of hot sauces..with heat ranging from mild to intestine burning hot. Their physical stores are located in NYC, but for those of us who don’t live within walking distance, can order online. Their website sells an extensive amount of different kinds of hot sauces from different companies nationwide. While it’s almost impossible for me to try all their sauces, most of the ones I have tried were very good. There are some that cannot be found sold anywhere else but on their website.

Here are our favorites (so far. List gets updated as we try more):

1. Anejo Pepper Sauce | Verde
My husband and I both love this sauce. We’re always sure to have this stocked in our pantry. The strong deliciously smoky flavor makes this sauce stand out from the rest of the other hot sauces. It’s nice a mild and the vinegar taste is not overpowering, like it is in some hot sauces.

2. Hot Ones | Los Calientes
This one has great flavor, mild heat, and a hint of sweetness and smoky savory. It’s just the perfect blend of goodness.

3. Hellfire Detroit | Bourbon Habanero Ghost
Another one with great flavor..but taking the heat up a notch, and with a woody, smoky, and peppery flavor. Can you tell by now that we love smoky flavors? I love mixing this in with a mild BBQ sauce and dipping my chicken in it.

4. Heartbeat | Scorpion
This Canadian brand makes many favorites among hot sauce fans. We’ve only tried their scorpion sauce, but will be adding jalepeno and pinepple habanero to our list soon. This is another versatile sauce that has a perfect level of heat. It has body with some smoky and garlicky notes.

5. Hot Ones | Apollo (aka the last dab)
One of my husband’s favorites. This is definitely the spiciest one of their collection. I only use this sauce when I feel like burning my tongue and having a runny nose, which is not often. All you need is a small dab of this sauce in your food and that’s enough to add extreme heat to whatever you’re eating. A little goes a long way…so this bottle has been lasting us for a good couple of months.