Midnight Smack BY FU

Behind the jar with Chef Nacxi

Warning: might go on ice cream

Falling Hard for Salsa Seca

X I L L I is a collection of authentic, traditional, and artisanal Mexican salsas, moles, escabeches, and adobos representing the Mexico’s deep culinary heritage. Many of these preparations have been staples in Mexican kitchens for centuries. The brand produces them by hand, building on traditional recipes, using fresh ingredients and thoughtful methods.

The name itself comes from xilli, the original Nahuatl word for chili—evidence of how central chiles have been to Mexican cooking for thousands of years.

All of that is wonderful.

But honestly?

I just can’t stop thinking about Salsa Seca.

It’s smoky, crunchy, nutty and wildly addictive—the kind of condiment that shows up on everything you cook for a week straight.

Sometimes a product just grabs you and refuses to let go. Salsa Seca was one of those. One taste turned into a little research, which turned into a few emails back and forth with the founder, Chef Nacxi Gaxiola—and before long I was deep into the story behind this ridiculously good condiment.

So I decided to ask him directly what makes it so special.

Talking with Chef Nacxi Gaxiola of Xilli

LZ: Ok Chef, I literally can’t stop thinking about this stuff. What’s the story?

Chef Nacxi:
Salsa Seca is from our Classic Line Collection. We start from traditional recipes and try to create the best version we can. When we first started the brand (with very little budget), the only things we felt we could truly compete on were authenticity, quality, and flavor.

LZ: Love it. I totally get the “very little budget” part. Passion still has to pay the rent.

Chef Nacxi:
As a Mexican myself, my first goal was to expose people to real, undiluted flavors. Then, as a cook by trade, I wanted to bring those flavors to a restaurant-quality level, which I felt could be our edge. Finally, wherever possible, we try to slightly improve or “perfect” these recipes using more contemporary techniques without compromising their essence or original inspiration, while still keeping them versatile.

LZ: One of the things that struck me right away is that these products feel miles away from the refried beans, yellow rice, and sad meats with flour tortillas that tend to define “Mexican food” in much of the Midwest. There are exceptions, of course, but this clearly comes from a deeper culinary tradition. What’s your restaurant background?

Chef Nacxi:
I was born in France but raised in Mexico City. I have a chemistry background and have worked with some of Mexico’s most renowned chefs. In Mexico, I worked for Chef-Researcher Ricardo Muñoz Zurita as an executive culinary researcher, helping to create an updated edition of the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Mexican Gastronomy as well as eight other titles, including one devoted entirely to Mexican salsas.

I also helped plan and organize many aspects of Zurita’s restaurants, culinary trips, books, and research.

In New York, I was the founding chef at La Superior in Brooklyn and Pulqueria in Chinatown, quickly earning positive reviews from major publications including The New York Times and the Michelin Guide. I was also the Culinary R&D Consultant for both of Stephen Starr’s El Vez restaurants, as well as Dos Toros.

Most recently, I worked in product development for the food innovation company CHEW, helping create a line of packaged goods specific to the Mexican market.

LZ: Whew. I am not worthy.

Honestly, before doing a bit of research, I had no idea how accomplished Chef Nacxi was. Now that I do, I’m even more impressed—and grateful that he took the time to answer my questions. Between his New York Times write-ups and my nine followers… I think this is more for me than it is for him.

LZ: What’s the mission behind X I L L I?

Chef Nacxi:
I have an ongoing quest to perfect the Mexican culinary experience.

To me, authenticity means maintaining respect for a product’s true origins and honoring lasting traditions and techniques. I aim to follow the path of those who came before me while adding the next chapter to the tome of Mexico’s culinary and cultural traditions.

LZ: I need to understand Salsa Seca. Where has it been all my life?

Chef Nacxi:
Salsa Seca is inspired by Salsa de Semillas from Michoacán. In our version, we treat every ingredient separately. We grind and slowly fry each nut and seed individually because they all behave differently—different bite, different time needed to reach the proper golden brown.

We take a similar approach with the chiles and chile oil—first toasting them to develop an initial layer of flavor, then slowly frying them to extract as much smokiness as possible into the oil, gently caramelizing the natural sugars in the chile (which is a fruit) while keeping the exterior of each flake crunchy.

LZ: Whew. No wonder. It’s truly amazing. I can’t wait to try more of the line. I’m guessing the mole is going to be pretty incredible too.

Chef Nacxi:
To be honest, this is the same philosophy we try to apply across all our recipes: balance in flavor, as well as in technique. We try to be thoughtful at every step, asking ourselves what we want to achieve from each ingredient and what technique will get us there.

Internally we often say: you can have the best organic tomato in the world, but if you don’t know what to do with it, you can still under- or overcook it, or under- or oversalt it.

LZ: Absolutely agree. So what do you actually do with Salsa Seca? I mean I know what I do. It goes on fried eggs. It goes on hard-boiled eggs at lunch more often than I’d like to admit.

Chef Nacxi:
That’s a hard one to answer because the uses are almost infinite (by design). Personally I love it on guacamole, hummus, grilled asparagus, broccoli rabe, roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed mushrooms, tuna tostadas—really any kind of vegetable—as well as steak tacos and white kale pizza with no red sauce.

Some people even enjoy it over vanilla ice cream. Not my personal favorite—I’m more of a purist—but people swear by it.

LZ: Wait… what? Now I feel pretty smart because the first thing I did after eggs was put it on roasted sweet potato wedges. I recommend that to anyone who will stand still long enough to listen. Ice cream, though? I might have to try it.

Chef Nacxi’s work with X I L L I is rooted in respect for tradition but driven by curiosity and refinement. His goal is to honor the complexity of Mexican culinary traditions while continuing to evolve them through careful technique and thoughtful ingredients.

Part of that mission is also cultural: as an immigrant, he has seen how Mexican food is often misunderstood or simplified outside its homeland. Through X I L L I, he hopes to introduce people to the deeper, richer reality of traditional Mexican preparations—many of which take days or even weeks to create.

For now, I can say one thing with certainty:

Salsa Seca has earned permanent real estate in my kitchen.

It’s smoky, nutty, crunchy, and somehow works on everything from eggs to roasted vegetables—and apparently even ice cream.

If you’d like to see what the fuss is about, you’ll find X I L L I Salsa Seca on the shelves at Food Union. Stop in and we’ll open a jar. BYOSP or ice cream. 

Follow up:  Salsa Seca on ice cream. Stef and I tried it. WOW. It 100% works. Here’s the thing, the heat and smoky comes at the end so the ice cream doesn’t do it’s job cooling it down. That would have been cool, literally. Maybe we could have put  the salsa sec on the bottom? We decided to add some shaved chocolate. It needed a little bit more sweet. Nailed it! Now I am inspired to drizzle salsa sec over a chocolate molten cake. Then little creme fraiche. I’m on to something…

Xoxo LZ