Ti-Malice – Haitian Creole Hot Sauce
A recipe for Ti-Malice, a popular Caribbean hot sauce originating from Haiti, typically made with Scotch Bonnet chili peppers. It has an interesting origin story in Haitian folklore and has many variations. This is one of our favorite ways to make it.
It’s time for more hot sauce, my friends! We keep running out of hot sauce in the fridge, so I need to constantly replenish the stock. You know how we are with our hot sauce recipes. Can’t help myself! Today we’re going Caribbean style, Haitian in particular, because I acquired some amazing Scotch Bonnet peppers.
These are Scotch Bonnet Freeport Orange peppers. They are very fruity chiles with a habanero level heat, so use accordingly.
They will surely bring you a beautiful spice level!
While the taste is excellent, what I love most about this hot sauce is the story behind it. Haiti is rich in folklore, particularly with two famous characters who are the antithesis of one another – Ti-Malice and Bouki.
The Folkore Behind Ti-Malice Hot Sauce – The Real Story
According to the story, Ti-Malice and Bouki are two great friends that are constantly at odds.
Ti-Malice is a witty trickster character, while his nemesis, Bouki, is hardworking but somewhat greedy. Ti-Malice would prepare himself meat for his lunch each day, and each day Bouki would “just so happen” to appear at Ti-Malice’s home around that time, obligating Ti-Malice to share his meal.
One day, in order to outsmart Bouki and deter him from wanting his food, Ti-Malice prepares a very hot sauce and pours it over the meat. It backfired, however, as Bouki LOVED the hot sauce so much and even bragged all over town about the oustanding hot sauce Ti-Malice made just for him.
Hence, the name of the sauce “Ti-Malice”, which is still popular today.
Ti-Malice Varieties – A Hot Sauce You Can Adjust to Your Own Tastes
There are many variations of this recipe, as you can imagine. Each household makes their own version. The ingredients I’ve used in our sauce are typical, but other variations include the addition of herbs like thyme or parsley, cloves, chicken broth, tomatoes, and other chili peppers like habaneros.
Some variations replace the hotter peppers, like habanero and Scotch Bonnet, with milder peppers to reduce the heat. You can easily do this yourself if you’d like to tame the flame.
Also, many variations do not process their sauce, but rather serve it in a bowl with a chunky consistency. I prefer it processed so it will serve more as a hot sauce that I can pour. The choice is yours! I hope you enjoy the recipe. Serve it over meats, such as chicken or fish.
Check out my other Hot Sauce Recipes, too.
Frequently Asked Hot Sauce Questions
Here are answers to some of the most common questions I get on other sauces:
How long will this sauce keep?
It should keep a few months easily in the fridge, or even longer. It’s all about the acidity. To be technical, target level ph for shelf stable foods is below 4.6 ph, but should probably be lower for home cooks, around 4.0 or so, to account for errors. If you’re concerned, add more vinegar to lower the ph. Sauces made with fermented chili peppers will last even longer.
The best ph meters that I recommend are from Thermoworks. Get yourself a ph meter from Thermoworks today. I am a happy affiliate.
Where’d you get that sauce bottle?
I find them locally sometimes, but I also order through Amazon. Here is a link to some bottles I like (affiliate link, my friends!): Swing Top Glass Bottles, 8.5 Ounce – Set of 4
Can I process this hot sauce for longer storage?
Absolutely. Just be sure to use proper canning/jarring safety procedures.
What should I do with hot sauce?
Aside from drizzling it over anything you please, here’s a post I did about How to Cook with Hot Sauce. As if you need even MORE reasons to eat hot sauce. I hope you find it helpful!
Check out These Related Recipes:
- Sweet Habanero Chili Sauce
- Pineapple-Jalapeno Hot Sauce
- Caribbean Style Mango-Habanero Hot Sauce
- Pineapple-Mango Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce
- Homemade Caribbean-Style Sweet Chili Sauce
- Sweet Pepper Chili Sauce
- Hawaiian Chili Pepper Water
Check out more Hot Sauce Recipes or learn more about How to Make Hot Sauce.
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #ChiliPepperMadness on Instagram so we can take a look. I always love to see all of your spicy inspirations. Thanks! — Mike H.
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped
- 2 Scotch Bonnet peppers or 2 habanero peppers, chopped
- ½ small red bell pepper or sweet pepper chopped
- 3 garlic clove chopped
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Juice from half a lemon
- 1 cups water or more as desired
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Heat a saucepan to medium heat and add oil. Add onion and peppers and cook about 5 minutes.
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Add garlic and cook another minute.
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Add remaining ingredients and bring to a quick boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 20 minutes.
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Cool then transfer to a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.
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Adjust for salt and pepper. Transfer to bottles for keeping. Enjoy!
Recipe Video
Heat Factor: Hot. You'll get some good spice with this one!
25 comments
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This was delicious. I made with Hawaiian chili peppers that grows abundant in my garden. I had enough Hawaiian chili water, now venturing off into hot sauces as I eat it with everything. Great recipe. Will try your other variations. Thank you!
Excellent, Chari! I love it. Glad you enjoyed it.
Hello,
Lovely recipe. Is there anyway to replace the tomato paste with something else that resembles it? it takes me like 15 minutes to get a single tablespoon out of a tomato lol Thanks!
Thanks, Leo. Yes, you can actually use fresh chopped tomato, but simmer the sauce a bit longer to reduce it a bit more to your liking. Enjoy!
Hey Mike!
Just wondering what kind of onion you use for this? I know it’s usually white onion for this kind of thing. If all I have on hand is brown onions, do you think they would do the trick, or would it miss the mark a little?
Hi, Sarah. Yes, you can use a brown or yellow onion for this. No problem at all. It really won’t affect the flavor much at all. Let me know how it turns out for you.
This looks like a great recipe and I’m going to try it soon. I’m going to be making the sauce for sale at my local farmer’s market put under Texas cottage law it can’t contain any tomato product. Is there anything that I could substitute for the 2 tablespoons of tomato paste?
Logan, you can swap in extra peppers and make more of a pure pepper sauce. I think that would work just fine. Good luck!
Mike – might you have any of these particular seeds left? Scotch Bonnets are our fav’s for great flavored sauces, but I have been unable to find a source for the Freeport Orange variety.
Thanks a bunch, and PLEASE keep up the recipes!
Alan, sorry, no, but check out my Chili Pepper Seed Resources page. I’m sure you’ll find some there!
I have kind of a basic question, but do you take out the seeds & ribs before adding the habanero peppers? Or do you leave those in?
Natalie, no, you do not have to remove them. You can if you’d like, though. Removing the pepper innards will reduce the overall heat a bit. The choice is yours. Enjoy!
Thanks for the recipe Mike, it was my first time making any chilli sauce, it turned out great and is delicious!
Many thanks from Sweden 🙂
Awesome, Miles! Super happy it turned out for you! Thanks!
I grow Carolina Reapers,How do you think they would work ,Start up you can’t eat your sauce might be the ticket .JT in Az.
Jerry, Reapers would work nicely in this sauce. Let me know how it turns out.
Would dried peppers work in this recipe? I prefer fresh, but I can’t seem to find any place that sells hot peppers near me.
REPLY: Shaye, yes, you can rehydrate the peppers then make this sauce. I would lightly toast them in a dry, hot pan first, then rehydrate. Let me know how it turns out for you. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
Made this one for Christmas gifts last year & it went down a storm. Planning on making some more this weekend.
Awesome!!
COuld you scale this up? Like maybe 10 bottles?
REPLY: Emelio, yes, thiswould easily scale. Good luck! — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
How long does this sauce last?
REPLY: Kinkin, this will last several months or longer in the refrigerator. — Mike from Chili Pepper Madness.
I am going to start with breakfast using this sauce
That would be perfect!
I love to eat hot sauce with all my meals including breakfast and really enjoy trying different flavor and the hotter the better.
That’s GREAT, Yassine. Glad to hear it!