A hot sauce is any spicy sauce made with vinegar and chile peppers. The most famous American brand of hot sauce is Tabasco sauce. Various differnt types of hot sauces are a typical ingredient in Mexican cuisine and Cajun cuisine. They are also very common in Asian cuisine, including in Vietnam and Thailand. The Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, made from Jalapeño chili peppers, can be found in many different Asian restaurants (and even occasionally in Mexican restaurants).

The hotness of hot sauces is often rated by the Scoville Scale. One of the hottest sauces marketed is Blair's 6am rated at 16,000,000 Scoville units. By comparison, Tabasco sauce is rated at 2,500 Scoville units. The effects of consumption of a too-hot hot sauce can be partially remedied by consuming milk or tomato juice or by consuming tomatoes.

See also:

• Mojo - the name of several types of sauce that originated in the Canary Islands.
• salsa - spicy, often tomato-based sauces typical of Latin American cuisine
• Sambal - an Indonesian and Malaysian condiment made from chile peppers.