Hot Sauce Review: Asian Kick by Tijuana Tom’s House Of Hot Sauce

Asian Kick by Tijuana Tom’s House of Hot Sauce is a complex and delicious hot sauce.

This hot sauce tastes fresh and vibrant. The citrus and ginger flavours really shine which gives the sauce almost a cooling sensation.

Asian Kick’s unique flavour profile is somewhat limiting. While it’s taste is nothing to scoff at, it does not pair well with many dishes you would usually pair with hot sauce.

This hot sauce would go well with many asian inspried dishes (naturally) and also most veggie based dishes. Asian Kick would be perfect for veggie spring rolls or a buddha bowl, something like that.

Introducing: Asian Kick by Tijuana Tom’s House Of Hot Sauce

Tijuana Tom’s is a hot sauce maker from Milton, Ontario. Each of their artisinal hot sauces are inspired from their travels around the world.

Asian Kick was inspired by a trip to Japan. Shishito peppers provide the peppery base for this hot sauce while Scotch Bonnets and Green Chilis provide the heat.

The ingredients list for Asian Kick is quite long and many of the ingredients have a home in Asian cuisine. Elements like Lemon Juice and Ginger really drive home that freshness that most Asian meals have.

Tijuana Tom’s marks the batch number on each of their bottles. The batch number on my bottle of Asian Kick was #15 and is hand written on the bottle. A nice touch!

You can find a bottle on some of the Canadian hot sauce retail sites as well as at Tijuana Tom’s website.

Manufacturer: Tijuana Tom’s House Of Hot Sauce
Made In: Ontario
Heat Rating: 4/10
Size: 148mL
Price Range: $10-$12
Buy at Tijuana Tom’s

Ingredients: Distilled White Vinegar, Shishito Peppers, Green Hot Chili Peppers, Canola Oil, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Orange Juice, Green Onions, Ginger, Garlic, Lemon Juice, Soy Sauce, Salt, Sugars (sugar), Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Black Pepper

Appearance

Let’s start off with the bottle presentation. The Tijuana Tom’s tag tied on with string was a good look and made the bottle stand out to me. The tag definitely added to the “craft hot sauce” vibe.

The bottle is a 148mL woozy bottle with a black top and label just like any other hot sauce bottle. The Tijuana Tom’s logo is the focal point of the label. On the back is the batch number and the nutritional info.

Asian Kick is a bright vibrant green colour and is fairly homogenous. There are little bits of ingredients floating around. One thing I did not like was the texture of the hot sauce on it’s own. Some of the skin and bits of ingredients tasted a little rindy which was a little off-putting.

The hot sauce flows very well and is easy to spread and pour. The top of my bottle became clogged with hot sauce and made it a little difficult to pour. Nothing that a straw or chopstick couldn’t clear up quickly.

Smell

Fresh, citrusy, and cooling.

There is also a bit of tang and acidity in the smell of this hot sauce. The two ingredients I can really smell the most are the lemon juice and the ginger. These both really stand out in all senses of this hot sauce.

While Asian Kick definitely has the tangy smell of a condiment, there is not much heat in the scent. This hot sauce actually smells really good and is very appealing.

Taste

Right away I can taste the tang of the vinegar and citrus juices. These tastes help to carry the other ingredients along the pallette.

After the tang come the fresh taste of the ginger, the Shishito, and the Green Chili Peppers. Unfortunately, I do feel that these ingredients are the culprits behind the texture of Asian Kick.

The skin to flesh ratio of Green Chilis and Shishito Peppers is pretty high. This means there is a lot of pepper skin to blend up with creating a hot sauce with these peppers.

Asian Kick definitley has some skin and rough ingredients blended up which made the texture a little off-putting for me. Every other bite or so I was picking out a sliver of pepper skin.

Heat Level

This is a flavour first hot sauce. You won’t know there are hot peppers in this sauce until you’ve experienced the flavour first.

After the flavour is a mild but sharp heat level. Most of which comes from the Green Chili Peppers and the Scotch Bonnet Peppers.

I tried a lot of this sauce and the heat level did not compound, it stayed mild throughout my meal.

The heat did not linger too long and did not sting my tongue at all.

I give Asian Kick by Tijuana Tom’s about a 4 out of 10 for heat level.

Flavour

Asian Kick tastes like it would go well with any Asian inspired dish. It is made with many ingredients commonly found in Asian cuisine like Ginger and Chili Peppers.

Because of the complex flavour profile, this sauce is limited to what it can be used for. As mentioned already it is best with green and fresh dishes that need a little extra kick and not so much savoury.

Asian Kick is tangy, fresh, and refreshing. I wouldn’t call this a savoury sauce, it feels like it is meant for a greener meal.

Conclusion: Overall Thoughts

I only have two beefs with Asian Kick. The first is how it clogged the top of the bottle making it hard to pour. The second is how much the unblended skin impacted the texture of the sauce.

Other than those two points I loved this hot sauce. It was great for veggie based meals which is something I’ve been looking for lately. My love of hot sauce tends to drive me towards meat consumption but with Asian Kick, I found myself looking for a fresher hot sauce vessel.

I am also a sucker for ginger so seeing that in the ingredients list sealed the deal for me.

Overall, I would buy this again.

Please remember that taste is subjective and everyone will experience hot sauce uniquely. These reviews contain my own thoughts and opinions. If you think you’ll enjoy a hot sauce then you should definitely try it out.