The inspiration for making this chamoy, a Mexican plum sauce, came on my way home from the marché when I was handed 2 beautiful yellow plums as part of a promotion for a supermarket opening. Makes about 1 cup of sauce:
Chamoy, A Mexican Plum Sauce
- 3 medium plums or 2 medium nectarines (12 ounces)
- 3 dried guajillo, or 2 ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup fresh orange juice (from 2 medium oranges)
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
- ¼ cup tamarind paste or concentrate
- 2½ teaspoons fine salt
In a small saucepan, combine the whole, unpitted fruit with the chiles and 1 cup water. Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat, then partially cover with a lid. Cook until the fruit starts to soften, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fruit and chiles to a medium bowl and let cool. Reserve ⅓ cup cooking liquid from the pot.
When cool enough to handle, discard pits from fruit and transfer the fruit mixture to a blender. Add the sugar, orange juice, vinegar, tamarind, salt and the reserved ⅓ cup cooking liquid. Blend until completely smooth.
Return the purée to the saucepan and bring it to a boil over medium heat. Adjust heat until the mixture is at a low simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Cook until the sauce has reduced by half, about 20 minutes. It will be thick and deep brick red. Remove from the heat and cool at room temperature. Store chamoy in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
My verdict:
Delicious! Someone ate one of the plums that was going in the sauce, so I made it with 2 plums, a nectarine, and 2 ancho chiles. If you prefer the taste of nectarines, or plums, you might want to make it with just that, but I liked the taste of the combination.
I think this would be great as a sauce for duck (or duck tacos), online people use it for fruit, like watermelon or mangos. This time we used it on pork chops and it was a big hit.
