Substitutes for Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçası)

chili-pepperssubstitutions

I'm interested in trying out a few Turkish recipes that call for red pepper paste (biber salçası). This is the only ingredient I can't seem to find at any local stores.

Are there any good substitutes for this? I would imagine gochujang is probably not a good fit (it's too sweet) and that other pepper sauces (sriracha, tabasco, etc.) probably have the wrong flavor profiles.

Best Answer

If you're wanting to make some different Turkish foods, I'd hazard a guess you enjoy cooking, so why not make your own? I found a recipe classed as 'Easy', taking 1 hour to prepare and 50 minutes to cook. I read it has the consistency of tomato paste (contains no tomatoes) and looks to be from the photo.

Among the list of ingredients is bullhorn peppers. Perhaps a local name but when I looked up what they were, they looked exactly like Hungarian sweet peppers. The name 'bullhorn' comes from their shape as they curve and taper to a point like horns. Here's a photo: Ripe Red Bullhorn Pepper

Give it a try! If you really enjoy the Turkish recipes you make, you'll likely want to make them again so having some biber salçası around will come in handy. http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipes/pepper-paste-biber-salcasi