The milder, serrano-based cousin of Secret Aardvark’s original habanero hot sauce is a little tangier and sharper than the red sauce. It’ll work anywhere you want heat with a bit of tang—guacamole, beans, eggs, rice, even pasta. If you’re like us, you’ll keep both styles of the Secret Aardvark hot sauces on the table and mix and match to suit.

Unlike many habanero-flavored hot sauces that are incendiary hot and over-spiced, Secret Aardvark keeps the heat in check with a little fruity sweetness that falls between Caribbean and Tex-Mex hot sauces. Fruity habanero pairs beautifully with tomatoes, avocado, corn, even melon, making this hot sauce one of our favorite summertime sauces. Try mixing a little with extra-virgin olive oil and a splash of lemon or lime juice for your next tomato salad or toss with mixed melon wedges, cilantro leaves and a little crumbled queso fresco. Or make this the “secret” ingredient in your next batch of guacamole, topping with a handful of crunchy toasted pepitas to temper the spice. And if you’re one of those who likes ketchup on your eggs (we know, its polarizing), Secret Aardvark is a breakfast champion. Matt, our food editor, blows through this sauce at the breakfast table, slathering it on his omelets, scrambles and fried eggs alike, though he thinks it really pairs best with the crispy fried corned beef hash at his local breakfast joint.

This acid-sharp, bright-hot Bee Local Hot Honey is great drizzled over everything from rich cheese and grilled meats to roasted vegetables, fried chicken or even Greek yogurt. Its acidity helps balance the intense sweetness of the Oregon honey. The heat is provided by Scorpion pepper, which has a sharp, floral, fruity quality that pairs nicely with the honey. A little goes a long way.

Gochujang is a Korean hot pepper paste that has a savoriness similar to Japanese miso and is fermented with glutinous rice, which gives it a slightly sticky texture and subtle sweetness. It’s a real powerhouse ingredient that we’ve come to rely on and consider an essential element of the Milk Street pantry. Chung Jung One's version has an approachable, mild heat level for adding to everything from tofu stew to barbecue meats.

Villa Jerada’s Harissa No. 1 is our favorite version of this North African red pepper paste for its bright, complex flavor. While many store-bought varieties have a one-dimensional spicy flavor, this harissa layers acidity and fruitiness with preserved lemons, a touch of vinegar and tomato paste for a lively, tangy condiment. Villa Jerada uses just enough high-quality Moroccan olive oil to make the harissa spreadable and smooth without diluting its flavor, as opposed to conventional brands that contain a high proportion of water and vegetable oil.

This chili sauce is enhanced with preserved black beans, mushroom powder, sesame oil and garlic for a complete flavor profile. The crispy bits of chili, the namesake ingredient of this dish, provide bursts of contrasting texture, making it an ideal tableside topping for stir frys, soups, braises and more.

Made without artificial preservatives or other fillers, this award-winning Cambodian hot sauce is pure flavor, featuring not only red chili peppers but also pungent garlic; salty, umami-packed fish sauce; vinegar; and sugar for a complex and balanced condiment. Its moderate heat level and subtle sweetness make it incredibly versatile. Its moderate heat level and subtle sweetness make it incredibly versatile.

This small-batch chili paste from Auria's Malaysian Kitchen has a wonderful chili-forward flavor, with a balance between the brightness of fresh peppers and the earthiness of dried chilies that makes it adaptable to all manner of recipes. The spice is rounded out with pungent garlic and a touch of sugar and vinegar, and the producer also uses shrimp paste in its recipe, which contributes umami flavor without any fishiness. As an ingredient for cooking, you can get more mileage out of sambal than hot sauce thanks to its thicker consistency, while its complexity makes it a great powerhouse ingredient for weeknight stir-fries. Try substituting sambal for the red chili flakes in our Thai Stir-Fried Spinach.

Tia Lupita's Hot Sauce is an authentic, small-batch version of the classic red hot sauces you'll find at every taco truck or taqueria. Made with only eight ingredients and absolutely no preservatives, the moderately spicy sauce has a bright chili flavor, vinegary tang and stand-out oregano notes that perfectly complement the red jalapeño chilies. Whereas many hot sauces forego dried spices because they can overpower chili peppers' fresh flavor, the oregano in Tia Lupita's sauce is balanced to perfection and makes up part of its core character. Hector Salvidar named his company after his mother, the original Tia Lupita, and her namesake sauce is made to this day according to her original recipe.

Tia Lupita's Salsa Verde is an authentic, small-batch version of the classic green hot sauce you'll find at every taco truck or taqueria. Made with only six ingredients and absolutely no preservatives, this Salsa Verde pairs green jalapeño chilies with tart tomatillos, cilantro and a hint of garlic for a balanced sauce that has just the right amount of medium heat and a whole lot of flavor. Whereas some bottled hot sauces use artificial fillers for a fuller consistency, Tia Lupita uses a touch of all-natural vegetable oil to carry the other ingredients flavors and aromas and create a creamy mouthfeel. Hector Salvidar named his company after his mother, the original Tia Lupita, and her namesake sauce is made to this day according to her original recipe.

In the brand's own words, Tia Lupita's Salsa Verde tastes great on “anything wrapped in a tortilla,” such as our Fish Tacos with Lime-Pickled Jalapeños. We also like it in recipes with tomatillos to boost flavor and contribute a spicy accent. Add a dash to Mexican Beef and Tomatillo Stew (Entomatado de Res); you can even use Salsa Verde in place of fresh green chilies if you don't have any on hand for Arroz Verde.

• Net Weight: 8 ounces
• Ingredients: Tomatillos, green jalapeños, vegetable oil, cilantro, garlic, salt

K-Mama is a rich, mildly spicy and savory-sweet sauce that will add instant Korean flavor to almost any dish. Featuring a base of the Korean red pepper paste gochujang, K-Mama's Original Sauce has a mild, lingering chili heat balanced by brown sugar, umami-rich soy sauce and the fermented soybean paste used to make gochujang. Aromatic sesame oil gives the sauce a silky richness. The company also makes a Gluten-Free Sauce that's slightly tangier, brighter and lighter-bodied, but with all of the same complexity.

Minnesota resident and Korean American K.C. Kye developed K-Mama Sauce out of nostalgia for his mother's homemade Korean cooking. The award-winning condiment is ideal for making bibimbap, a classic Korean rice dish, as well as marinating meat, drizzling over rice or noodle dishes or using as a flavor base for stir-fry.

Tia Lupita's hot sauces are authentic, small-batch versions of the classic red and green hot sauces you'll find at every taco truck or taqueria. Made with absolutely no preservatives and no sugar, these hot sauces will enliven any dish. Company founder Hector Saldivar started Tia Lupita in order to share his family's beloved hot sauces with the world. The secret recipes were entrusted to him by his mother, Lupita Maldonado (affectionately nicknamed “Tia Lupita”), whose home-cooked hot sauces are highly sought-after among friends and family in Mexico. This two-bottle set pairs Tia Lupita's signature red and green sauces: Bright and slightly tangy with a medium heat level, the company's Classic Hot Sauce features fruity red jalapeño and garlic for a savory foundation. And while many hot sauces forego dried spices because they can overpower chili peppers' fresh flavor, the oregano in Tia Lupita's sauce is balanced to perfection, setting it apart from other sauces. Made with only six ingredients, Salsa Verde pairs green jalapeño chilies with tart tomatillos, cilantro and a hint of garlic for a sauce with just the right amount of medium heat—and a whole lot of flavor.

A twist on a classic vinegar-based hot sauce using the rare datil pepper, Zab’s is nothing like anything we’ve ever found in run-of-the-mill grocery stores. The sauce is made from datil peppers grown in their native St. Augustine, Florida before it’s cooked and bottled by hand. We love its texture—not too thick or runny—and its unique heat, which lingers on the palate but doesn’t overwhelm. The flavor is tangy and a bit vegetal like a tomato with an up-front sweetness. And of course, the datil’s taste shines through—a bit fruity like a habanero, but with a bit more sweetness. The final pop of flavor is black pepper, which yields an earthy fruitiness and a different type of heat. Not too spicy, a slow bloom that’s easily tempered and almost mustard-like.

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Zab’s is nothing like anything we’ve ever found in run-of-the-mill grocery stores. The sauce is made from rare datil peppers grown in their native St. Augustine, Florida before it’s cooked and bottled by hand. This sauce in particular is meant to be a love letter to the regional sauces made there. We love its texture—not too thick or runny—and its unique heat, which lingers on the palate but doesn’t overwhelm. It’s tangy and sweet, thanks to the additions of pineapple and tomato, along with the carrot and fruity cider vinegar. Extra earthiness from hits of turmeric, mustard and earthy-sweet molasses make it a complex but completely versatile hot sauce.

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This bright, yellow-orange hot sauce has a nice spice that isn’t too aggressive—a friendly heat. The main attraction is the passion fruit flavor—it’s so bright and fresh, you could be scooping a spoonful of the seeds right from the fruit itself. And the fruity flavors of the chili peppers mingle in behind the passion fruit as well. This is a really special sauce—a bit spicy but a celebration of passion fruit. Add a tropical twist to your hot sauce collection.

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