Flavor Feature: Sriracha Hot Sauce

Image courtesy of Flickr user ilovememphis.

Image courtesy of Flickr user ilovememphis.

Oh, sriracha – what can’t you say about this beautiful hot sauce. To be sure, this isn’t really hot. It’s half the heat of Tabasco, but the flavor – oh, the flavor – is where it’s at. Sriracha originated from Thailand – named after the city Si Racha. It’s made of sun-ripened peppers ground up with vinegar, sugar, salt, and other secret ingredients. You may have already tried items with it. Many Chinese dishes are made with it. Do you like spicy tuna/salmon sushi rolls? Chances are they used sriracha to make it both hot and red. It has a flavor that is unmistakably “Asian” but is used in so many other cuisines:

  • Mix it in with your favorite barbecue sauce to add just the right of heat and a unique tang.
  • Add it in mayonnaise on sandwiches and burgers.
  • Chili! Tex-mex and Asian cuisines blend so well together. Add it just as you serve up each bowl.
  • Pizza/Calzones – as long as there isn’t too much rosemary. For some reason rosemary and sriracha taste strange. That’s just me though.

You’d be surprised how many times you’ll use it. We use it frequently throughout the recipes both in dishes and as a garnish.

 

Flavor Feature: The key to planning an exciting home restaurant menu often lies in experimenting with one key ingredient. In “Flavor Feature” posts, we’ll put the spotlight on these special items to bring variety to your kitchen.