IL MIG+ Hot Sauce

The sauce that put ONIMA on Hot Ones.

A fermented red habanero hot sauce built on toasted rice koji, aged sherry vinegar from Jerez, and smoked Spanish paprika. Featured on Hot Ones Season 24. Scovie Award Gold Medal, Hot Sauce, 2025.

Red habaneros from Mexico, lacto-fermented for two to three weeks. Dried rice koji toasted in olive oil the way you'd start a paella, before the aromatics, before the spice, before anything else hits the pot. Caramelized onion and garlic. Smoked paprika and coriander seeds. Aged sherry vinegar from Bodegas Páez Morillo in Jerez de la Frontera, six months in American oak. Everything blended and emulsified in olive oil until it pours like silk and clings to a spoon.

The result is umami-forward, smoky, and slow-building. Heat that arrives on a delay, climbs as you swallow, and clears in time for the next bite. Think of the caramelized bottom of a paella pan, scraped up and turned into a sauce, with habanero behind it.

No sugar. No stabilizers. No distilled vinegar shortcut. Just fermentation, time, and a paella build.

How to use it

The house move is scrambled eggs with IL MIG+ on top. The umami means a few drops do more work than a full pour of most hot sauces. It cooks well too. Stir into mayo for a sandwich. Whisk into vinaigrette in place of vinegar. Brush on meat before grilling.

Pairs naturally with:

• Eggs (any style)
• Avocado toast
• Tinned sardines, mackerel, anchovies
• White beans, chickpeas, lentils
• Soft cheeses
• Roasted potatoes
• Bloody Marys
• Mac and cheese (especially lobster)

What makes it different

• Rice koji toasted in olive oil before the build. Almost no US hot sauce uses koji, the same culture used to make miso, soy sauce, and sake.
• Two to three week lacto-fermentation on the habaneros. Real fermentation, not flavor-blended.
• Sherry vinegar from a named producer in Jerez, aged six months in American oak. Most competitors use distilled white or apple cider.
• No sugar, no stabilizers, no thickeners. Just peppers, time, and technique.

Heat, savory, acid

• Heat: 6 / 10. Medium-high. Habanero-driven, rounded by fermentation.
• Savory: Dominant. Glutamate-rich from the koji and the long ferment.
• Acid: Balanced. Bright but not sharp. Wine-like from the sherry.

Ingredients

Habanero Pepper Puree (habanero peppers from Mexico, salt), Sherry Vinegar (Bodegas Páez Morillo, Jerez de la Frontera, Spain), Water, Onion, Garlic, Olive Oil, Rice Koji (rice, Aspergillus oryzae), Smoked Spanish Paprika, Salt (kosher), Coriander Seeds.

Specs

• 5 fl oz (148 ml) glass woozy bottle
• Vegan, gluten-free
• Shelf life: 2 years unopened. Refrigerate after opening, use within 6 months for peak flavor.
• Made by hand in San Diego, California

FAQ

What is koji hot sauce?
Koji is rice cultured with Aspergillus oryzae, the same culture used to make miso, soy sauce, and sake. It adds umami and depth to anything it's fermented or cooked with. IL MIG+ uses toasted dried rice koji in the base of the sauce.

Was IL MIG+ on Hot Ones?
Yes. IL MIG+ was sauce #6 on Hot Ones Season 24, which premiered in September 2024.

How spicy is IL MIG+?
6 out of 10. Medium-high. Habanero-driven, but rounded by koji and fermentation, so it reads as flavor with heat, not heat alone.

What does IL MIG+ taste like?
Umami-forward, smoky, savory, with slow-building habanero heat. Closest comparison is the caramelized bottom of a paella pan: deep, slightly toasty, with the bite behind it.

Is IL MIG+ vegan and gluten-free?
Yes to both. No animal products. Rice koji is naturally gluten-free.

What do you put IL MIG+ on?
Eggs, avocado toast, tinned fish, beans, mac and cheese, roasted potatoes, Bloody Marys, sausages, soft cheeses. Better as a cooking sauce than a Tabasco-style table finisher, except on breakfast.

Has IL MIG+ won any awards?
Yes. Scovie Award Gold Medal in the Hot Sauce category, 2025.

Where is IL MIG+ made?
San Diego, California.