When making chili with dried chiles, do you use the soaking water or fresh stock?

[u/Fast-Coffee-7125]

For a pot of chili built around ancho and guajillo paste, how do you decide whether to blend in the soaking liquid or discard it and use fresh stock?

Is bitterness mostly down to the chiles themselves, the toasting, or the soaking time? What taste checks do you use before adding the paste to the pot?

[u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

U can do either. Some even do a mix of both

[u/Fast-Coffee-7125 → u/Fuzzy_Welcome8348]

yeah, tasting a spoonful before committing the whole pot seems sensible

[u/Influence_X]

The soaking water for dried chilis tends to be bitter, some like it some don't.

[u/Write_Username_Here]

I don't use soaking liquid as I have found it to be extremely bitter, but that also may just be me messing up somewhere along the way since I am newer to using chili paste over just chili powder 

[u/Fast-Coffee-7125 → u/Write_Username_Here]

sounds like it's not just you judging by these replies lol

[u/smotrs]

I typically use fresh water and toss the chili water. The chili water to me has a bitterness to it.

[u/downsizingnow]

Too bitter for me I use fresh for cooking.

[u/Logical_Warthog5212]

Unlike mushroom tea which has the umami of the reconstituted mushroom, chili tea not so much.

[u/Fast-Coffee-7125 → u/Logical_Warthog5212]

lol chili tea sounds like something you drink after losing a bet

[u/reststopkirk]

I boil mine and discard the water from the boil. Then I use stock for the chili. I use a little of the water from the boil to get my blend right, a slurry, more than a paste. I also strain out the solids from my sauce.

[u/Fast-Coffee-7125 → u/reststopkirk]

do you notice much flavor loss from straining, or mainly a smoother texture?

[u/sparkchaser]

The water is usually too bitter to use. Try the water and see how it tastes. If it doesn't taste bitter, use it and add better than bullion to it. If it tastes bitter, just use stock.