The Sriracha Cookbook Blog

Sriracha Food Fight: Trader Joe’s vs. Huy Fong Foods Tien...

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:10:00 -0700

Sriracha Food Fight: Trader Joe’s vs. Huy Fong Foods

Tien Nguyen at the LA Weekly offers this helpful Venn Diagram comparing Trader Joe’s Sriracha—one of their newest private-label creations—with the almighty rooster sauce we all know and love from Huy Fong Foods.

Nguyen explains:

“Trader Joe’s version is tasty, though it smacks of garlic first and chilies second. Indeed, the heat level here is fairly tame; it was quite a bit easier to down a few spoonfuls of this than to take in a similar amount of Huy Fong’s sauce. Higher up on the Scoville scale, the Rooster sauce has has a dry heat and a sharp, appealing tang that lingers.”

While the folks at the Weekly ultimately chose Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha as their favorite, I have to say that I love them both. I know, I know… I’m a fence-sitter, but here’s why. Huy Fong Foods’ version is incredible. I fell in love with it 15 years ago and I still love it today. When I started working on The Sriracha Cookbook and The Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook, I began learning about the Thai versions of Sriracha and how different they were from our homegrown American interpretation. Sweeter, a little more focus on the garlic than the peppers, and a thinner consistency, almost like a dipping sauce rather than a squirting condiment. (Shark Brand and Sriraja Panich are highly recommended for those looking to try some of the authentic Thai Sriracha sauces.) Annnnyway, back to Trader Joe’s. Why do I love it? Because it’s like the best of both worlds! It’s got some of the punch of Huy Fong Foods with some of the aforementioned characteristics of its original Thai counterparts.

For me, I’ll be keeping ‘em all stocked in my cupboard… it’s always fun to play “Sriracha Sommelier” when friends come over for dinner.

Recipe: Kimchi Omelet with Sriracha Syrup Brooklyn’s 606...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:12:00 -0700

Recipe: Kimchi Omelet with Sriracha Syrup

Brooklyn’s 606 R&D restaurant just got their phenomenal sounding breakfast recipe shared by The New York Times. It sounds so good, I just might have to have it for dinner tonight!

“The premise is simple: you sauté chopped store-bought kimchi in a pan, then add beaten eggs. What elevates this from your standard brunch is the sriracha syrup, made from simmered rice vinegar and sugar spiked with thick red hot sriracha chili sauce[.]”

Full recipe and method:
Kimchi Omelet With Sriracha Syrup - NYTimes.com

latimes: The story behind Sriracha With a distinctive bottle...

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:01:20 -0700

latimes:

The story behind Sriracha

With a distinctive bottle and taste, Sriracha has gone from an unpronounceable challenge to a staple sauce for many Americans. In the U.S. alone, $60 million worth of the sauce was sold last year alone.

But it wasn’t always such a prevalent item on store shelves. David Tran, the man responsible for popularizing the hot sauce, had a long journey beforehand:

When North Vietnam’s communists took power in South Vietnam, Tran, a major in the South Vietnamese army, fled with his family to the U.S. After settling in Los Angeles, Tran couldn’t find a job — or a hot sauce to his liking.

So he made his own by hand in a bucket, bottled it and drove it to customers in a van. He named his company Huy Fong Foods after the Taiwanese freighter that carried him out of Vietnam.

Read more via our profile of Tran, and his beloved hot sauce.

Photos: Gina Ferazzi, Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times

Recipe: Glazed Tofu with Fiery Sriracha Pearls If you’re not...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 11:07:00 -0700

Recipe: Glazed Tofu with Fiery Sriracha Pearls

If you’re not already checking out the divine vegan recipes and stunning photography on the Olives for Dinner blog, might I recommend you do so ASAP?

The latest and greatest is this Glazed Tofu with Sriracha Pearls recipe, made even cooler thanks to the molecular gastronomy fun you get to have with some simple spherification techniques! And yes, it’s all vegetarian- and vegan-friendly! Hooray!

As the blogess doth profess on her site:

“Here I’ve created sriracha pearls, which were then dropped into a viscous and sweet glaze over well-seared tofu cubes. Instead of producing an even heat level throughout, these pearls created tiny yet fiery pops of isolated heat in each bite.”

Sounds like a winner to me!

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Olives for Dinner | Vegan Recipes and Photography: Glazed Tofu with Fiery Sriracha Pearls

Photo by Jeff Wysocarski; hat tip to Kristy from Keepin’ It Kind for sending me the link!

Sriracha Caramel Corn recipe Jackie Dodd over at Domestic Fits...

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 07:51:46 -0700

Sriracha Caramel Corn recipe

Jackie Dodd over at Domestic Fits is awesome. Besides making some stellar recipes for that blog, she also runs another blog called The Beeroness that holds a veritable treasure of delicious recipes that incorporate craft beer.

She’s wowed us before with her Sriracha-Stout BBQ Sauce recipe and her Strawberry-Sriracha Margarita recipe, but now she’s come back even stronger with her rooster sauce-infused sweet & spicy caramel corn.

You know the old movie theater trick… a guy drilling a hole in the bottom of the popcorn box to get himself a good time? (Did anyone ever actually do this?) Well, I’m sure there’s some kind of cock sauce joke I can make here, but I’m writing this way too early in the morning to be that clever. Enjoy your popcorn!

Recipe: Sriracha Caramel Corn from Domestic Fits

Photograph by Jackie Dodd

Sriracha Soda Float recipe from Trader Joe’s This...

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 16:56:00 -0700

Sriracha Soda Float recipe from Trader Joe’s

This milkshake will definitely bring all the boys to the yard. The simple recipe mixes black cherry soda, fresh orange juice, morello cherries, French vanilla ice cream, and “TJ’s Sriracha Sauce.” Wait… Trader Joe’s has their own private label Sriracha sauce?! Since when?!

Get the recipe here: Sriracha Soda Float

Recipe: Rice Noodle Salad with Grapefruit-Sriracha...

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:05:00 -0700

Recipe: Rice Noodle Salad with Grapefruit-Sriracha Vinaigrette

I’m in all kinds of love with this photo and I can’t wait to try the recipe when I get home! This salad not only looks cool and refreshing (with a little kick from Sriracha, of course), but it’s also vegan for my fellow veggie-lovers out there!

Kudos to the vegan mastermind that is Isa Chandra Moskowitz for coming up with this brilliant and beautiful masterpiece! Enjoy!

Get the recipe here:
Rice Noodle Salad With Grapefruit-Sriracha Vinaigrette recipe
(via Post Punk Kitchen)

Review: Lay’s Sriracha Potato Chips When I first heard...

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:08:00 -0700

Review: Lay’s Sriracha Potato Chips

When I first heard about the new Lay’s Sriracha potato chips, I got pretty excited. In fact, I remember saying to myself, “Well, it’s about damn time somebody made these!”

Because they were released as part of the (potentially limited-time) Lay’s “Do Us A Flavor” promotion, it was a little difficult to find a bag to try. After multiple emails to the Lay’s PR team went unanswered and several unsuccessful trips to local markets, Mr. Brad Burgess (@jharm73) was kind enough to heed my cries on Twitter, sending me a few bags (along with some awesome Tröegs beer! w00t.) in exchange for a signed copy of The Sriracha Cookbook. Thank you, Brad!

So. The chips. In a word? Meh. Yeah, they were a little tasty, but the flavor was—sadly—NOTHING like Sriracha. A bit of nice heat, yes, but the sweetness and the fermented garlic you and I know and love is completely absent, and the flavor of the chiles is very nondescript. More like dried cayenne pepper than fresh red jalapeño in my opinion.

Know why? Because there is no Sriracha in these chips. They’re “Sriracha-flavored” which is techno-speak for “chock full of powders.” And one look at the label corroborates this hunch, and draws even more questions. Like why all the cheese? These chips for some unknown reason contain sour cream, whey, cream cheese, Cheddar cheese, and Swiss cheese… five ingredients that have as much to do with Sriracha as Vin Diesel has to do with the Oscars.

Tyler Raineri—homeboy who originally suggested the flavor as part of Lay’s contest—may get the $1,000,000 prize if Sriracha gets more votes than the other two chip varieties he’s up against: Cheesy Garlic Bread and Chicken & Waffles. Can’t be mad at him for that… but if I was him, I’d be a little mad at Lay’s for being so far from the mark with their formulation.

Who knows… maybe another company can step in and do it right? “Rooster Sauce Ruffles” certainly has a nice ring to it…

David Tran, creator of Huy Fong Foods Sriracha. The man behind...

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 09:30:00 -0800

David Tran, creator of Huy Fong Foods Sriracha.

The man behind the almighty rooster sauce stands in front of what I wish was my pantry. Businessweek writer Caleb Hannan got a rare glimpse into the story of Huy Fong Foods and the family behind it, while examining the cult status that surrounds their Sriracha. (And hey, look at that! I’m even quoted in the article!)

Their success continues because of an unrelenting focus on quality and word of mouth alone. Huy Fong Foods has never advertised, has no official Facebook page or Twitter account, and their website hasn’t been updated since May 2004.

ALL HAIL DAVID TRAN.

Read on for a fascinating look behind the curtain:
Sriracha Hot Sauce Catches Fire, Yet ‘There’s Only One Rooster’ - via Bloomberg Businessweek

[Photograph by Nathanael Turner / Businessweek]

Radio Interview: “Why are Americans so smitten with...

Sat, 16 Feb 2013 15:44:00 -0800

Radio Interview: “Why are Americans so smitten with Sriracha?”

After the recent release of the new Lay’s Sriracha-flavored potato chips, a producer from Los Angeles-based public radio station KPCC reached out to see if I’d be available to come on their “Take Two” program to discuss Sriracha’s popularity and all the little Sriracha-themed products popping up in its wake. Naturally, I was honored to chat with them about my favorite subject: the almighty rooster sauce!

Whisky. Sriracha. Candy. I needed to sit down when I saw this...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 10:10:00 -0800

Whisky. Sriracha. Candy.

I needed to sit down when I saw this recipe. How did they so magically combine some of my favorite things into a sweet little inconspicuous-looking heart?

I’m really looking forward to bringing these into the office and secretly getting my whisky fix. Boss asks what’s up? “Oh, they’re cough drops… I haven’t been feeling 100% the past few days, but I didn’t want to miss work. You know me… Mr. Dedicated!” Then I’ll cough on her so she goes back to leaving me alone, all while I unassumingly get my drank on (with a soupçon of Sriracha to boot) and look like a model employee. WIN.

(Brilliant recipe and beautiful photograph via Olives for Dinner | Vegan Recipes and Photography: Whisky-Sriracha Candy)

Lay’s debuts new Sriracha Potato Chips alongside two other...

Sun, 10 Feb 2013 14:14:00 -0800

Lay’s debuts new Sriracha Potato Chips alongside two other flavors: Cheesy Garlic Bread and Chicken & Waffles

Well, it was only a matter of time before somebody introduced Sriracha Potato Chips to the world, and it looks like that time is now. Lay’s—through its “Do Us A Flavor” promotion—asked consumers to submit new flavor ideas for consideration that would be voted on via social media. After sorting through thousands of submissions, the folks at Lay’s narrowed it down to three flavor finalists: Sriracha, Cheesy Garlic Bread, and Chicken & Waffles.

The new potato chip flavors are due to hit shelves on February 12, and fans are still encouraged to vote for their favorite to ensure that they stay year-round.

Your trusty Sriracha Cookbook author hasn’t tried the Sriracha potato chips, but rest assured that I had an email out to the Lay’s media relations team four days ago! (Now, if only they’d answer it…) Once I find a bag to try, I’ll be sure to report back. In the meantime, I’m gonna go grub on some Sriracha Peas to curb my rooster sauce snack craving.

Have you gotten a hold of any of the new flavors? Whaddya think?

(via AP: Lay’s test-crunches 3 fan-nominated chip flavors)

Recipe: Sriracha Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Tangy Gorgonzola...

Sat, 02 Feb 2013 08:19:00 -0800

Recipe: Sriracha Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Tangy Gorgonzola Sauce and Sprite Pickles

Tom Liddy over at DNAinfo.com seems to have stumbled onto a grand recipe idea here. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are cooked and shredded with a Sriracha buffalo-style sauce, and placed on toasted slider buns with a dollop of creamy yogurt mixed with Gorgonzola and fresh lemon zest. On the side are pickles made with Sprite that sound beyond intriguing; I can’t wait to try them.

If you’re a diehard chicken wing fan, and can’t think about buffalo sauce on anything else but wings, you can also check out my Honey-Sriracha Glazed Buffalo Wings recipe.

Sriracha Buffalo Chicken Sliders recipe [via DNAinfo.com]

What Do Water, Beer, Milk, Gasoline, and Sriracha Cost, in...

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 07:00:00 -0800

What Do Water, Beer, Milk, Gasoline, and Sriracha Cost, in Dollars per Gallon?

Bon Appétit magazine looks at the comparative prices of certain liquids, per gallon. Interesting to see how it all stacks up, but no matter how much Sriracha costs, I’ll always contend that it’s WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Interview: Counterfeit Sriracha?

Sat, 26 Jan 2013 15:08:00 -0800

Big thanks to Rico Gagliano of “The Dinner Party” for taking the time to interview me about counterfeit Sriracha, after a recent post on Food Republic brought attention to a bottle trying wayyyyy too hard to look like the Huy Fong Foods “rooster sauce” bottle.

Had a great time tasting different brands, and explaining the differences between Sriracha here in the US and in Thailand.

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Listen in:

You can also download the entire episode, or get the podcast on your Apple device here. (I’m on around the 25:40 mark)

Per “The Dinner Party”:

It’s hard to escape the red plastic bottle with a rooster on it; Sriracha is now a staple of cool-kid eateries everywhere. In fact, the condiment is so popular that imitators are springing up…in a bad way: the blog “Food Republic” reported they’d received a box of counterfeit Sriracha. To learn about why the sauce is so hot (in every sense of the word), Rico caught up with Randy Clemens, author of The Sriracha Cookbook. Turns out, there’s never been just one ‘sriracha.’

(Photograph via EatDrinkNBeMerry)

Cajun Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Dill-Sriracha Rémoulade Not the...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 09:11:00 -0800

Cajun Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Dill-Sriracha Rémoulade

Not the fanciest picture in the world, but it was just something I snapped with Instagram while recipe testing for my NEWEST BOOK. Whaaaaaat?! That’s right! If you hadn’t heard, I’m working on a follow-up to The Sriracha Cookbook. The next little literary tome I’m beyond proud of, and beyond grateful to be able to share with you fine folks, is The Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook, due out in July 2013.

It’s full of 50 plant-based recipes, with no gross overly processed “fake meat” crap to be found within its pages. Nay, this book is a celebration of humble vegetables, grains, fruits, rice, beans, and legumes, plus their glorious marriage with the almighty rooster sauce! All the recipes, like this one, are completely vegan, and they are all delicious if I may say so myself. (Some will have side notes on how to simply make them vegetarian, if you are inclined to include dairy and/or eggs.)

Anyway, more to come on all of that soon, but I wanted to give you an early peek at one of the recipes to get you as excited about this project as I am. This was one of the first recipes I’d tested while writing the book, so I thought it would be great to have it be the first I shared with the world. Hope you enjoy! (You will.)

(Did I mention that you can already pre-order The Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook? Cuz you totally can. Just sayin…)

Recipe: Cajun Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Dill-Sriracha Rémoulade

For the quinoa cakes:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups vegetable stock, or water
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup whole-wheat or all-purpose flour
1/2 medium red onion, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Lemon-Dill-Sriracha Rémoulade:
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise, or flax mayonnaise
1/4 cup Sriracha
1 large clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh chopped dill, plus more for garnish
1 lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

The method behind the madness:
In a small pot set over a medium heat, combine the quinoa and vegetable stock. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower the heat immediately. Simmer until all the liquid is absorbed, and the germ protrudes from the grain like a small white spiral tail, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, and let cool to room temperature.

While the quinoa is cooling, prepare the rémoulade. In a small mixing bowl, combine the vegan mayonnaise, Sriracha, garlic, and dill. Peel the zest from 1/2 of the lemon and mince it finely. Add to the vegan mayonnaise mixture, along with the juice from the entire lemon. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and set aside. (This can be made up to 2 days in advance and kept in the refrigerator.)

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flax seeds and water. Set aside, and the mixture will form a gel after several minutes. In a medium bowl, combine the flax gel with the quinoa, flour, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. The mixture should be moist enough to stick together, remaining slightly tacky. Feel free to adjust with water or flour until desired consistency is reached. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Form into 8 to 12 patties, about 1/2-inch thick. (Patties can be made a day in advance and kept in the refrigerator.)

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet or nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the patties, and cook, undisturbed, until nicely browned on one side, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and repeat, cooking for an additional 4 to 5 minutes.

Keep the finished quinoa cakes on a wire rack set over a baking sheet (or on a foil-lined baking sheet) in the preheated oven until all of them have been cooked. Plate the hot quinoa cakes with a generous dollop of rémoulade and additional dill for garnish. Serve immediately.

Other notes:
If you’ve no aversion to eggs: Feel free to substitute 1 large beaten egg in place of the flax and water mixture in the quinoa cakes. For the rémoulade, feel free to substitute traditional mayonnaise for the vegan mayonnaise.

Getting baked: If you’re looking to make a larger batch of these, or if you’re just trying to cut down on frying, you can also bake these bad boys! Simply arrange them in a single layer on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake at 400°F until golden brown and heated through, about 25 minutes total, flipping once after the first 15 minutes.

Ye olde smalle printe: Reprinted with permission from The Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook by Randy Clemens. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. Text copyright © 2013 by Randy Clemens.

With this ring, I thee wed. (Sriracha ring, by FunWithNeedles on...

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:14:28 -0800

With this ring, I thee wed.

(Sriracha ring, by FunWithNeedles on Etsy)

Oh my god! Oh my god! Look what I got! Bahahahaha!! Yessssss!!!...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:36:39 -0800

Oh my god! Oh my god! Look what I got! Bahahahaha!! Yessssss!!! (at Escondido DMV Office)

Stir-Fried Garlic & Sriracha Shrimp recipe This...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 07:58:00 -0800

Stir-Fried Garlic & Sriracha Shrimp recipe

This tasty-looking recipe (and photo!) come to us from Marvin Gapultos, author of the Filipino food blog, Burnt Lumpia. The spicy, sweet, and tangy appetizer takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, and if you’re not a fan of head-on shrimp, you can substitute peeled and deveined shrimp in their place.

Definitely looking forward to Marvin’s first cookbook—The Adobo Road Cookbook: A Filipino Food Journey—in April 2013!

Get the recipe:
Stir-fried Garlic and Sriracha Shrimp (via Serious Eats)

So, uh, Sriracha Stiletto heels are a thing apparently.

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 12:12:06 -0800

So, uh, Sriracha Stiletto heels are a thing apparently.