Tamarillo or tree tomato aji hot sauce, known as ají de tomate de árbol in Spanish, is a very tasty hot sauce made from tree tomatoes or tamarillos, hot peppers, onion, cilantro and lime juice. A tree tomato or tomate de arbol, also known as tamarillo, is a South American fruit that looks somewhat like a roma tomato, but pointier and with a thicker skin. Tree tomatoes can be either yellow orangish or dark red depending on the variety, the inside of the fruit will be either orange, dark red or almost purple. They can be eaten just plain, but make sure they are very ripe if eating them plain – they are very tart. Tamarillos or tree tomatoes are used frequently in juices and in desserts (cooked in a panela or sugar cane syrup with cinnamon, clove and other spices). One of the most well known way to use them is to make this aji or hot sauce, which is usually mild to medium spicy, and is served with a lot of different Ecuadorian dishes.
Tamarillo or tree tomato aji hot sauce is a very tasty hot sauce made from tree tomatoes or tamarillos, hot peppers, onion, cilantro and lime juice.
Ingredients
- 4-5 tree tomatoes, fresh or frozen
- 2 ajies or hot peppers (serranos or red chilies are good options, habaneros if you are very brave)
- 2 tbs finely chopped white onion
- 1 tbs finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tbs lime or lemon juice
- ¼ cup water
- Salt to taste
- Optional – Add cooked and peeled chochos or lupini beans
Instructions
- If using fresh tree tomatoes peel them, boil them for about 5 minutes to make it easier to peel them.
- If using frozen tree tomatoes, defrost them over night in the fridge, then cut them in half and scoop out all the insides.
- Blend the tree tomatoes with the hot peppers (seeded and deveined if you want it very mild, you can always save a few seeds and add them in if it’s too mild).
- Transfer the blended mix of tree tomatoes and hot peppers to a small sauce pan, add the water (you can add more if you want a more liquid sauce) and cook on medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. You can also omit the cooking part, the sauce will be fresher, but will need to be consumed faster.
- Add the onion, lime juice, cilantro, chochos (if adding), and salt to taste.
- Serve warm or cold.
Notes
Replace water with oil (avocado, light olive oil, or a mild flavored oil) for a creamier Cuencano style aji (and do not cook it after blending).
This tamarillo hot sauce is a must-have for green plantain empanadas (or any empanadas), yuca bread, plantain chips, tamales, humitas (a fresh corn tamale) and goes great with potatoes, fish and meat, basically with almost anything.
Tamarillos or tree tomatoes, also known as tomate de arbol
It is very hard to find tree tomatoes in the US, most of the time when you find them they come from New Zealand (so please send us more). In Austin I was able to find them at Fiesta and also occasionally at Central Market. I’ve seen tree tomatoes or tamarillos only a few times in Seattle, once at QFC (U-District) and at Uwajimaya. I asked once at Pike Place Market and was told that several years ago an attempt to introduce them into Seattle was made but it wasn’t successful. You can find the tree tomato pulp frozen and it works well for juice but doesn’t do too well for this hot sauce (but it’s better than nothing if you have a craving), however sometimes you can find the actual fruits frozen at the Latin grocery stores, then the hot sauce is almost as good as when made with the fresh fruit.
This is the basic recipe for tree tomato aji, in some places in Ecuador – especially in Quito – it is very common to add chochos (lupini beans) to this aji, so if you have some on hand feel free to add them. I also love the Cuencano version of tree tomato aji, it’s very smooth and creamy since they blend it with some oil.
This sounds amazing and as soon as the tamarillos come into season I am going to try it! Tamarillos also are great in a shortcake (you do need to sprinkle sugar on them), in chutneys, all sorts of things But personally, my favourite is skinned and sliced on toast sprinkled with salt pepper and sugar. If you blanch the tamarillo slice it and put the salt, pepper and sugar on it the night before it is even better :) AND you get to slurp the juice of the plate in the morning!!
Laylita, I live in Tampa FL, I can’t find tomate de arbol anywhere. Do you know where I can find it, maybe online? I find only the ones in a syrup in a jar from Amigos.com. I love ahi, when I go to Ecuador I eat alot of it. I can’t wait until my husband goes next year, thats too long..lol. Thanks.
Hi Dawn – Are there any Latin grocery stores or even Asian grocery stores that might have them? They do seem to be seasonal, so might not be available year round. I don’t live in that area, but maybe another reader who does can help?
Also, you can use the frozen concentrate to make the aji sauce.
Call or go to the famous and very old Spanish restuarant in Tampa, downtown. They could probably direct you to where you could find tamarillo.
I actually found them at a supermarket called El Grande. Thanks.
This sauce is so good. You can put it on pretty much anything and it will taste good. Here in Ecuador I can buy about 18 tree tomatoes for $1. Back in Ohio a dollar something each.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I am a Canadian in Ecuador, and I have tree tomatos growing, but didn’t know what to do with them. I love this recipe, and now I’ll be able to build on this recipe and play with the flavours a bit. I would be interested in hearing if anyone has had any experience growing these in northern climes, indoors or outdoors, and getting fruit?
Hi Deena – I believe someone commented or emailed me that they grown them in Oregon, and back when I lived in Austin I was able to get a small plant started, but that’s as far as it got. I remember that in Ecuador I was told that they needed a certain amount of altitude in order to do well, but they’re also sensitive to freezes.
Me gusta mucho el aji de tomate de arbol, pero con pedacitos de remolacha, sabe delucioso tambien. Yo soy the Santo Domingo de los Colorados. Ecuador.
Hey, this sauce looks great…how long can it be stored after you make it?
It’s usually good for about 3-4 days.
Could this recipe be canned? If so, do you think I should add vinegar or more lemon juice? Thanks!
Hi Cecilia – I’ve never canned it and am not much of an expert on canning so I don’t know. I’ll check the ones that they sell canned or in jars here in Ecuador and see if they have vinegar or lemon juice on the ingredient list.
We found some tomate de arbol today in Oxford (England) and made Aji following your recipe, which turned out DELICIOUS!
Laylita, you are the best. Thanks for keeping up this website.
Hi Zaic,
In Chicago, you can find frozen tomate de arbol at a little store called El Condor, on Milwaukee Avenue. They also sell dried “chochos,” tostado, etc.
I was on holiday in Quito this summer and fell in love with ají and jugo de tomate de árbol. I was wondering if anyone knew where I could find tomate de árbol around Chicago or what I can use to substitute them (at least when making ají). It would go great with the thanksgiving turkey. :)
We retired to Ecuador this past year. As a lover of hot spicy food I have become quite addicted to Aji. We live north of Ibarra (north of Quito) and the farmers here grow the tomato trees everywhere. The plants however, if you are not familiar with them, get to be quite large (I guess that is why they are called trees). Most of the tomato trees I have seen range from about 7 to 8 feet tall. If you like, I can look for seeds in or near the market or when I begin to get tomatoes from my three trees, I can save and dry some of the seeds and try to send them to you. Ecuador has very strict laws about importing seeds. I don’t know about exporting? Most people who live here bring seeds with them when they return from the states or have someone that is visiting bring seeds. I typically try to get heirloom seeds so I can save and replant the different vegetables that I like.
To all the people who comment on this recipe: Can u please let me know if you know an online store where i could either the fruit or the seeds. I live in Oklahoma state and it’s very difficult to get some of the ingredients to cook my dishes (Ecuador). I would appreciate if you reply to me. Thanks a lot.
Hi Laylita,
I attended IACP last week in Austin, TX, and came into 6 tomates de arbol courtesy of Melissa’s Produce based in LA. They were exhibiting at the trade show and gave me a box of their goodies since I live in Austin and they didn’t want the produce to go to waste. (What a box it was—quince, papaya, baby pineapple, mangos, passionfruit, prickly pear, the list goes on! )
Anyway, I had no clue what to do with the tomates de arbol and stumbled across your site. I made the salsa tonight, and it was DELISH! Boyfriend loved it, too. I’m stewing some chicken thighs tomorrow and only wish I had more so I could try them in that. Thanks for the great recipe.
Martha
Hello Laylita,
I wanted to ask how I could get some seeds of Tamarillo tree yellow ??
A greeting and thank you very much from Spain