Curaçao's pickled hot sauce — scotch bonnet peppers, onion, and often green papaya pickled in vinegar with turmeric and spices into a sharp, fiery, tangy relish spooned over funchi, stoba, and fish.
Pika is the ubiquitous Curaçaoan and ABC-islands hot sauce, pickled scotch bonnets and onion (often with papaya) in vinegar — a condiment on every island table.
A tiny spoon of pika transforms a plate — fierce scotch-bonnet heat, sharp vinegar tang, sweet onion, and an earthy turmeric note, all at once. Bite: blistering, acidic, and bright, it cuts the richness of stoba or funchi and wakes up any bite. Used sparingly (it's fiercely hot), it's the essential heat-and-acid condiment of the Curaçaoan table.
Pickling the scotch bonnets and onion in warm vinegar both preserves them and mellows the raw harshness slightly while keeping the fierce heat; turmeric adds color and earthiness. Time deepens the flavor — a make-ahead condiment that brings heat and acid to the islands' rich, starchy plates.
Variations
With green papaya (the classic). With carrot. Milder (fewer seeds). With mango. With more turmeric. As a thicker blended sauce.
On the Palate
Where Pika sits in the Curaçaoan flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 12How it's made
8 steps · 15 min active · 15 min waiting
- 110 min
Thinly slice 8 scotch bonnet peppers, 1 onion, and (optionally) some green papaya.
- 23 min
Pack into a clean jar with a little turmeric and a few peppercorns.
- 33 min
Heat vinegar with a pinch of salt and sugar until just dissolved.
- 42 min
Pour the warm vinegar over the peppers and onion to cover.
- 51 min
Add a splash of oil on top.
- 68 min
Seal and let it pickle at least a few hours (better after a day).
- 71 min
Shake before using.
- 82 min
Spoon sparingly over funchi, stoba, fish, or any dish needing heat.
