Coconut Hot Chilli Sauce product reviews

When I apply or am looking at applying for a product to review, I often check to see if any reviews have been added here on KIWIreviews, or I will do a google search to find out more information about the product and the company. This one was no different, and I found myself reading the different reviews on here. I did have a wee giggle at one that mentioned they expected the sauce to contain some form of chocolate lol I expected the same when I applied, I think because there has been a few chilli and chocolate products released lately, so it was a surprise to not see chocolate in the ingredients list haha

Further more, regarding the chocolate, if you look at the label and bottle it kind of gives one the impression that there will be chocolate, but nope sorry guys, not even a smidgen. In saying this, the label and bottle is visually appealing, and if it was not for the rather high price tag I would be drawn to it on a grocer shelf and possibly still think it has chocolate in it haha

Speaking of price, sorry I just can not justify it, no matter how many number of uses or serves one would get from this, and you would get a lot because you do not need a lot, I just can not justify nearly $20 for a small bottle of sauce. I do love coconut products though and admit that I spend more than I would really like to on coconut oil so as much as I wouldn't spend this much on the sauce, I could be tempted to buy it if on special.

My family like hot stuff so I knew this was going to be a hit, and although we only used it as a dunking sauce with our kebabs, that way everyone could decide how much they wanted their mouth to burn, without me getting the blame. it was very well received. It is a good consistency and a dark sauce, and it is hot guys! You may not think it will be because of the cooling coconut, but do not be fooled...it is!!

I couldn't really taste the coconut to be fair, the chilli does come through as the prominent flavor. And it was really really good with the home made beef and lamb kebabs. All three kids loved it, ages 9, 15, & 16, and so did hubby and I. As I said earlier, you do not need a lot, even if using as a marinade, so it will last quite some time, but the price still gets me every time sadly

I will be honest and say that this product initially scared me a little bit. While I cook a fair bit, and my friends seem to think I'm great at making up tasty dishes and coming up with new flavours, I generally use the same ingredients. I stick to the tried and true ingredients, mainly keeping my "trial' products as garnishes. This was the first product that I've really had to think about what I was going to cook ahead of time, and it was a little bit unnerving; the idea that if I did it wrong, it could potentially ruin my meal.

But lets start from the start. The product had me concerned when I first tasted it. It had a treacle-like thickness to it, and quite a sharp flavour that had me reacting similar to a high concentration of vegemite or marmite. There was definitely a noticeable bite to the sauce too (which I was very pleased about), but it was a fuller hit, that quickly mellowed out, but still spread about the mouth. These seemingly strong conflicting flavours felt very much overpowering at first, which led to my hesitation to use it.

But today I took the plunge and made a bit of a stirfry (let's call it a low carb stirfry as I had no rice in the pantry). To give you an idea of my tastes, when I stirfry I will generally use dark soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, and a dab of oyster sauce or blackbean sauce. With tonights meal I just added some broccoli, thinly sliced parsnip, and shredded chicken to the pot, and gave a generous drizzle of this coconut hot chilli sauce. It provided a nice heat, but without any additional flavouring, it was a little bland, so I added a little bit of dark soy to give it that saltiness that I love.

Once added to the food, the sauce loses a lot of its kick, and what seemed like an overpowering flavour originally, is now much more restrained. When you think about it, I'd probably be disgusted if I tried the soy sauce on its own too. It's all about how it works with food. And I was quite pleasantly surprised. While I still need to do some more experimenting, I'm not worried about screwing up. I put quite a lot of this sauce on my meal, and the spice was still not that high.

Reading about a product and experiencing it first hand can be two very different things. Before receiving this I had read a couple of comments about how hot it was and that it gave you that 'wow' feeling but I still did not expect it. After opening this bottle I asked my family would they like to trial, but also warned that apparently it had a kick to it. My husband jumped at the opportunity and grabbed a piece of bread and dunked it into the bowl. He was so cocky about the whole thing as he inserted it into his mouth but his smile quickly disappeared to a look of shock. He did comment 'well that does get hotter' and because I was laughing so much he arrogantly ate some more, which was followed by a glass of water. When my seven year old asked to try we both warned her only a tiny bit on her finger and after dipping it in walked away only to have her run around the lounge like a headless chook screaming for water. My youngest (I don't actually think she got any) also ran around mimicking her sister.

Our first meal was a stirfry with beef and vegetables. I was a little hesitant on how much sauce to use as my tongue was still feeling it some 15 minutes later so only poured a bit on. Definitely going to be trial and error as only really got the heat and not much flavour. Cups of water were definitely been used but it was still yummy. I could not believe some twenty minutes later my lips were still tingling.

I had read about using in Hot Chocolate, but I can honestly say never again. I did not like the taste of it at all and after only having two sips I had to tip down the sink. My husband was not even game to try.

Last night I marinated chicken in the sauce for a couple of hours in the fridge. Then fried it up. My husband commented it looked extremely hot. But tasting it was divine. I made wraps with yoghurt dressing and they were an absolute hit. I am not sure if it was the sauce but you could really taste the cheese, lettuce and red onion and everyone was asking for more and wanting the dish again. We have also mixed with some yoghurt to make a dip while watching a movie last night. Because the sauce is rather thick it did thicken the yoghurt nicely and was so yummy with chips.

Although I find the price rather high we have had a lot of laughs with this sauce and its fun trying to decide what next without making our heads explode. The girls and I are not the best with hot spicy food but depending on the various uses available with this it is a fun winner.

Naturally hot is indeed what this sauce is about, when I opened the bottle I licked the inside of the lid and wow, it sure did have a bite to it. The flavours though, oh wow, amazing and so good, I had all these ideas of what I could use it for.

One that came to mind and that I have to try was using it as a marinade with venison steak, so that's what I done. I soaked the venison in a sauce of the Coconut hot chilli sauce, some garlic, soy sauce and a bit of honey. I cooked the venison on the bbq tonight and oh my, super yummy. It was amazing, and I found the other flavours like the honey and soya sauce brought down the heat of the sauce a bit.

This is a bottle that you would use for many things, and I feel its great value for money, the amount you use isn't a lot because of the powerful hit of the chilli. Therefore you would get a great number of uses from it. I don't know if I would pay $18.95 a bottle though but I'm a rather cheap skate when it comes to buying extra bits and pieces in the super market shopping. But for a treat it would be great and I guess the bottle would last a while.

I really like about this sauce is that it has organic ingredients and is a healthier alternative to sweet chili sauce as it contains no additives, preservatives or cane sugar, as mentioned in the comments. A healthier option is always the best way to go these days.

Over the past year, I have been doing my best to move to food which is real food rather than processed food. I certainly prefer products that don't contain preservatives of additives. When I saw the Matakana Superfoods products, I was rather excited. For some reason, the Coconut Hot Chili Sauce made me think of chocolate sauce! Perhaps the colour of the bottle...I am not really sure! When I held the bottle in my hand, I found that it did not contain any chocolate!! I know that it might sound strange, but it was what I was expecting!

The ingredients list is very simple and of impressive quality. The fact that there are no preservatives means that the product does need to be refrigerated after opening. That is not a big deal, but something to note.

When I opened the sauce, I poured about half a teaspoon and tasted it. I got a huge shock when I found out how spicy it was! It tasted really nice but wow, it packed some serious punch! It didn't hit immediately but it sure did hit! It became a bit of a party trick for the next few days. I tried it out on lots of people. The funny thing is that some people didn't seem to get the same hit that I did.

Although it was a bit of fun to play with, I really did appreciate the quality of the product I was dealing with. I decided that I would see what ways it could actually suit me to enjoy with a meal. I tested it mixed with mayonnaise and also with natural yogurt. Both tasted really good and made a fine addition to both meat and vegetables on my plate. I found that the yogurt really lightened the mood of the flavour but still allowed the spicy hit to be evident. I think this was my favourite way to enjoy it. The hotter I wanted the mix, the more sauce I added to the yogurt.

The sauce is very hot and therefore only a small amount is required, even if it is mixed with something like yogurt or mayo. I couldn't see and expiry date on the bottle, so I imagine the key is to simply keep it in the fridge to allow it to last.

I am looking forward to the opportunity to test more Matakana Superfoods products as I am sure the the quality of ingredients will be there throughout the entire range.

I made the rather ill-informed choice to taste a little of the sauce neat. Oops, big mistake! This is a sauce that has serious grunt and is designed to enhance a flavour, not replace it - rather like salt. However, once I had downed a glass of water and recovered, I realised that the aftertaste that was left after the heat had disappeared was really pleasant. A taste I could certainly get used to after I had adjusted the quantity to more acceptable levels.

Once I realised how strong the chili presence was, I tried the sauce out with different perennial favourites. I have always added a little fresh chili to bolognaise sauce - a little if there are children eating it, and quite a lot more if it is just for adults - as I find it gives the mince a more interesting flavour and cuts through the richness of the cheese topping. So I tried a small amount of the sauce in place of fresh chili. This proved to be a lovely combination as, not only did the chili blend in with the meat, but there was also that interesting after-taste, presumably from the coconut.

As an experiment, I added a dash to an evening cup of drinking chocolate. I don't drink milk so my drinking chocolate and cocoa drinks tend to be rather boring. The addition of a little sauce gave it a fascinating new twist - it was not hot at all (at least not in this quantity), but what it did do was to enhance the chocolate flavour and give it added richness. What a treat!

The last item I tested it on was a raw fish salad. I combined a few drops of sauce with coconut milk and lime juice, and used it as a marinade base for the chopped fish and onions. The marinade was pale pink instead of the usual white, and the result was to die for. If I was in a hurry, I would buy pre-prepared raw fish from the market, add the sauce when nobody was looking, and pass it off as my own creation!

I can see that the bottle is going to last for some time as the quantities needed for various things are quite small. This makes it an economical buy. It does need to be kept in the fridge as there are no artificial preservatives, but that is another selling point for me. I definitely prefer a natural product over one that is full of added chemicals. And the possibilities are endless. I will certainly be using this sauce regularly from now on.