Review - Nando's Chickenland Peri-Peri Sauces
Digg
Share
After doing a bit of research on Nando's Chickenland sauces, I was surprised to find that they actually originate from a global Portuguese-themed restaurant chain that started in South Africa. Although they are virtually unknown to American food audiences, they do have two locations in Washington, D.C.. But if you live in the U.S., you needn't travel to our nation's capital to experience Nando's unique peri-peri flavored food; all of their sauces and marinades are, through the magic of the interwebs, available online. I was fortunate to have been sent some test bottles to try out, and here's what I thought of Nando's efforts...
Let me give you my assessment of these one by one. I'll start with the three bottled sauces, which I applied to some simple grilled chicken strips:
Wild Herb Peri-Peri Sauce
Ingredients:
Water, Vinegar, Onion Puree, Salt, Lemon Puree, Sunflower Oil, Serrano peppers, Garlic, African Bird's Eye Peppers (Peri-Peri Peppers), Cayenne Pepper, Dextrose, Xathan Gum, Parsley, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Capsicum Oleoresin.
The aroma of this is very lemony and peppery, but with much more complexity than I expected. The look and texture is a dark yellow, medium-thick liquid populated densely with spices, red pepper flecks and seeds. I initially made the mistake of not shaking this up sufficiently upon pouring this on my chicken, so some clearish water came out of the bottle (refer to the photo to see what I mean) in addition to the sauce. I had take a few bites of the meat with Wild Herb Peri-Peri Sauce and was surprised to find out how spicy this was. On a heat scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being scorching hot, this rates an easy 2. Weak tongues may find this too hot. But while the spiciness is prominent, it's certainly the delicious and savory flavor that wins out in the end. It's great on chicken, and might be a good topper for salads, veggies, or pasta. Overall, I'll give this 3.5 stars out of 4.
Hot Sweet Peri-Peri Sauce
Ingredients:
Water, Sugar, Lemons, Sodium Lactate, Garlic, Sunflower Oil, Lime Juice, Modified Corn Starch, Salt, Red Bell Peppers, Paprika, Lactic Acid, Xathan Gum, African Bird's Eye Peppers (Peri-Peri Peppers), Red Peppers, Propylene Glycol Alginate.
This misleadingly possesses the smell of fresh cherry tomatoes (this sauce actually contains none), with slight hints of lemon, garlic, and lime. What's more interesting is that I couldn't detect any chile peppers at all in the aroma. Hot Sweet Peri-Peri Sauce is a medium-tinted red concoction that is thicker than the Wild Herb Sauce and contains larger pieces of red peppers as well as the typical shreds and fragments of ingredients. Upon tasting, I thought it retained quite a bit of the red bell pepper taste. How was the heat? It didn't seem as hot as the Wild Herb, but was still there to keep things on a nice, warm level (probably 1.5 out of 5). The fire from the African Bird's Eye Peppers stayed "below the radar" and let the sweetness of the other milder peppers grab the spotlight. I really liked this sauce, and thought this might go well with meats other than chicken (which it was terrific on, by the way). Another one that's 3.5 out of 4 stars.
Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce
Ingredients:
Water, Vinegar, Salt, Lemon Puree, Serrano peppers, Onion Puree, African Bird's Eye Peppers (Peri-Peri Peppers), Sunflower Oil, Cayenne Pepper, Xathan Gum, Paprika, Garlic, Propylene Glycol Alginate.
Putting the bottle of sauce up to my sniffer, it seemed closer to a "hot sauce" where I could detect the familiar scent of light chile peppers. The smell was light and sweet and wouldn't knock anyone out if you were to cook with this or dump some out onto your plate. Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce is darker than the Hot Sweet and contains more seeds; in fact, there was a huge cluster of seeds lining the bottom, prompting a good shaking. The taste is obviously a lot hotter than the Hot Sweet, but it's also a bit more tart and strong from ingredients such as vinegar and onion puree. There's "more" to it than it's milder counterpart, but I honestly liked Hot Sweet a little more than Extra Hot Peri-Peri Sauce. With that being said, Extra Hot is still admirable on chicken, and would fit nicely as an additive to Mexican dishes or some steamed white rice. The heat was there in full force and would rate 3.5 out of 5. If you have anyone in your household who's not a hardcore chilehead, skip this on go with the Hot Sweet Peri-Peri Sauce. Overall, Extra Hot isn't half bad and would get a very good 3 out of 4 stars. A worthy effort.
Nando's Cooking Sauces
For the two cooking sauces, I grilled and cubed chicken breast fillets and boiled some farfalle (bow-tie) pasta. I added each of the cooking sauces to the chicken and the noodles and let the mix simmer for about a half-hour.
Peri-Peri Cooking Sauce - Roasted Reds
Ingredients:
Water, Onions, Tomato Paste, Sunflower Oil, Sugar, Dehydrated Red Bell Peppers, White Vinegar, Balsamic Vinegar, Garlic, Onion Powder, Modified Corn Starch, Lactic Acid, Black Pepper, Garlic Powder, Natural Flavor (Roasted Red Bell Pepper), Artificial Pepper (Fried Onion), African Bird's Eye Peppers (Peri-Peri Peppers), Xathan Gum, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservatives), Cayenne Pepper, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Basil, Calcium-EDTA.
I discovered Roasted Reds to be the shocker of the whole group. While this was cooking, I thought that the aroma was too oniony and bitter (thereby similar to many of the African sauces I've smelled and tasted). While this is certainly not a liability, it's just not my cup of tea. Tomatoes, intense garlic and red peppers rounded out the scent. The surprise was the taste. It went way beyond any deficiencies that might have been planted from the smell and blow them away to smithereens. Roasted Reds Cooking Sauce, which is a thick, pepper-filled red liquid, is one of the best tomato-based sauces I've ever tasted. It's sweet and fresh and tomato-y, but it has a completely different dimension that's created from the red bell and chile peppers. It was amazing with my chicken and pasta. This stuff would be a good replacement for ANY Italian or Mexican recipe for might call for a tomato-based sauce. If you typically buy jarred or canned spaghetti sauces like Ragu, Prego or Hunt's, try Roasted Reds instead; it will bring your pasta night out of blandsville. Is this sauce hot? Not really. It might barely register a 1 on a scale of 1 to 5. Your family probably wouldn't even notice any trace of spiciness. I could throw a bunch of superlatives at this, but all I can add is that this gets my highest recommendation. Overall, a 5 out of 5.
Peri-Peri Cooking Sauce - Curry Coconut
Ingredients:
Water, Onions, Sunflower Oil, Tomato Paste, White Vinegar, Salt, Modified Corn Starch, Cayenne Pepper, Dehydrated Coconut (0.9%), Egg Yolk, Cumin, Turmeric (Color), Cilantro, Dehydrated Fenugreek, Cinnamon, Dehydrated Fennel, Mustard, Propylene Glycol Alginate, Black Pepper, Xathan Gum, Garlic Powder, Lactic Acid, Cloves, Onion Powder, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate (Preservatives), Calcium-EDTA, Dehydrated African Bird's Eye Peppers (Peri-Peri Peppers), Paprika, Natural Flavors (Celery Oleoresin, Nutmeg Oleoresin), Artificial Flavor (Ketchup)
Curry Coconut is the oddest Nando's entry out of the five. It's aroma was mouth-watering; it's sweet and zippy odor brought out thoughts of nutmeg, coconut, onions, and peppers. If you get some of this going in the kitchen, you'll soon have curious dinner guests entering the room wondering what that beautiful fragrance is. Curry Coconut is deep, dull orange complimented with thousands of pieces and flakes of spices and peppers. Consistency-wise, it's similar to a dense gravy, although it's not pasty and is is very pourable from the glass jar. The taste is a bit less sweet and more complicated blending of veggies, coconut, and curry. It's not too "out there" for those of you with hum-drum Americanized food palettes, yet it's adventurous enough to be different than your run-of-the-mill sauces. It worked very well with the bow-tie pasta and chicken, and might taste good on other grilled poultry, casseroles, and stir-fries. There's more heat in this than Roasted Reds - around 2 out of 5. Although there's more flavor than hotness in Curry Coconut, the minuscule bit of fire may be too much for weaker tongues. Overall it's a great turn from the ordinary and would get 3 out of 4 stars.
Labels
All five have great, distinctive artwork on their labels. They also feature gold-colored stickers of awards won, such as the Scovies.
To buy these online, you'll have to do some digging around on Nando's USA website. First, go to http://nandosperiperi.elsstore.com/, and then click on one of the category links on the left-hand side, such as "Peri-Peri Sauces" (the links in the main section near the top won't work). They range in price from $5.39 to over seven dollars, depending on the sauce.
Related Articles:
Spicy Food Reviews - Hot Sauce Reviews, Hot Snacks, Hot Wings, Seasonings, BBQ Sauces, Condiments, and More
Comments
2009-07-05 18:02:45
2009-07-05 19:21:03
I have tried the Wild Herb sauce..goes well on chicken. I have a few of their pepper grinders. Awesome also when used with the right dish!
2009-07-07 12:59:57
2009-11-22 15:27:33
2009-12-21 17:30:35
2009-12-30 13:25:03
2010-03-01 14:23:10
2010-10-19 13:46:31
They noe have 4 restaurants in the DC area, YES
2010-12-14 06:35:03
2011-07-16 03:54:32
Check out my blog and try some of my home made peri peri sauces.
Maybe do some reviews on mine ?
Thanks for the great information.
2011-07-28 09:59:12
was trawling the net looking for the secret to their recipe.. must be that african birds eye! just found a local farmer's market that sells the chilli flakes.. cant wait to try it out..
Add Your Comment: