Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Aged Sriracha Hot Sauce Recipe
Did you know that the Huy Fong company that makes the beloved “rooster sauce” sells 20 million bottles of its sriracha sauce a year without spending a single dime on advertising? I find the story about David Tran’s success so amazing and can’t even think of another company that can thrive like this without a PR or marketing strategy.
While I’ve made many versions of sriracha and hot sauces before, this recipe is the closest homemade version I’ve ever tasted. The secret is a simple fermentation that I learned from Karen Solomon’s brand new book, Asian Pickles.
The book is a tribute to “sweet, sour, salty, cured and fermented preserves from Japan, Korea, China, India.” Here’s a sampling of recipes:
Japan
pickled ginger, preserved seaweed, pickled asian pear with lemon, miso pickles
Korea
kimchi, radish kimchi, squid kimchi, water kimchi, gochujang
China
radish in chile oil, pickled shallots, Tianjin perserved vegetable, five-spice pickled carrots, XO sauce, chile-black bean oil
India
South Indian coconut & cilantro chutney, peach, coconut and ginger chutney, sweet mango pickle, pickled chickpeas
SE Asia
daikon & carrot pickle, pickled chiles with lime, thai pickled cabbage, banana ketchup, Malaysian pickled vegetables
Well, there are many more, but this gives you an idea of what type of concoctions to expect. I highly recommend this book, almost all of the recipes are simple and Karen’s directions are crystal clear. If you’re a lover of the sour and spicy condiments, you’ll find Asian Pickles right up your alley.
I followed the “Fermented Cock Sauce” recipe with great success. I had never fermented hot sauce before, but really, it was as easy as opening a dark cupboard and leaving it there for a week undisturbed. In fact, I had almost forgotten about all about it!
My version is much thicker, chunkier than the Huy Fong Sriracha sauce, but that was on purpose. One of the last steps in the recipe is to strain the vinegar (similar to Tabasco) from the chunkier sauce. If I wasn’t so forceful in my straining (you’ll see in the video), the consistency of my sriracha sauce would be smoother, less chunky. I would also run the sauce through a blender one more time at the end.
The resulting flavor is brighter, fresher and more “fruity” than the bottled version. I’m not sure if fermenting longer would provide a more deeper earthy flavor that I love about the bottled version.
What type of peppers to use? Any that you would like! I use red jalapeño peppers, which is what Huy Fong uses.
Yes, there are red jalepeño peppers! But they are difficult to find. Karen Solomon recommends looking for Red Fresno peppers, which have a similar taste and heat index as red jalapeño.
I found red jalapeños at Super Target as well as Publix. You can also ask the the produce manager to stock them in for you.
The only rule is red peppers = red sauce. Since I like my hot chile sauce…..not so hot….I added baby red bell peppers, which gave the sauce a sweeter, more mellow taste.
The recipe from Asian Pickles will give you a 2-for-1: you’ll get the sriracha-like sauce on the left and a thinner, vinegary hot sauce that’s similar to Tabasco to the right.
Sriracha Making Notes
-In the video, I only made half of the recipe (to yield 1 cup).
-Vary the spiciness with the type of chilies you use. Use red chilies to keep the sauce red.
-For a thinner sauce, similar to Huy Fong Sriracha sauce, only strain lightly (in the video, you’ll see me using a spoon to press down on the hot sauce to extract as much liquid as possible….I ended up with a chunkier sauce!)
-If you find the sauce still too chunky, run it through a blender before bottling
-Both sauces will keep for months (yay for fermentation!) in the refrigerator
How to make Sriracha Sauce video
Recipe from: Asian Pickles by Karen Solomon. Wash the chiles and chop off their stems. If you like your sauce less hot, remove the seeds and membranes and discard. Work the next step in 2 batches so you don't overload the food processor. Add the chiles, garlic and salt to the food processor. Process for 2 minutes until very liquid. The mixture should have consistency of a smoothie and appear a bit foamy on top. Scrape the sauce into a very clean 1-quart (or larger) glass jar. Don't use plastic. Cover the top of jar with paper towel and secure with rubber band. This prevents bugs from entering and allows sauce to breathe. Place jar in cool, dark place for 2-4 days. The liquid will settle at bottom, and the thicker sauce will rise to top. The top should be bubbly - which is a sign of fermentation. Taste, and let sit for a few more days if desired. I prefer 7 days of fermentation. If mold grows, remove the mold with a small spoon - and then proceed to the next step (basically, don't eat the mold directly, but the sauce should be okay). Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve. Now you'll have the thinner "Tabasco" like vinegary hot sauce and the thicker hot chile sauce. To each, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar and stir well. You may like to run the thicker sauce through the blender for a finer, thinner consistency. Store each tightly sealed in refrigerator. The thicker hot sriracha sauce will keep for up to 4 months. The thinner vinegar hot sauce will keep indefinitely. Ingredients:
Directions:
Feel Better!
The ingredients are simple: 2 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (235 mL) buttermilk, 2 ounces (55 g) leaf lard, 2 tablespoons (28 g) unsalted butter, 1/2 teaspoon (3 g) table salt, 4 teaspoons (18 g) baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon (2.3 g) baking soda.
In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together until well combined.
Add the butter and lard to the flour and cut it in until only pea-sized or smaller clumps are visible.
I accomplish this by tossing the flour around the fats until they are fully coated. Then I start to cut and press them using a spoon or knife. While cutting, I stir to keep the pieces coated with flour.
Here's what it looks like when the fats have been cut to the proper size.
Pour the milk into the flour mixture.
Stir with a spoon just until all the flour is wet and it starts to clump together.
Prepare a surface for rolling out the dough. I prefer a silicone baking mat that has been dusted with flour. This is also a good time to preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
Roll the dough from the mixing bowl onto the floured surface. 
Without overworking the dough, form/roll it into a ball. Roll it over and flour the bottom if it is tacky.
Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large rectangular shape. Lightly dust the surface with flour.
Fold the dough in thirds over itself and lightly dust. (This is like folding a letter twice to fit into a letter sized envelope; some people refer to this as a business envelope fold.)
Fold the dough in thirds in the other direction (perpendicular to the direction of the previous folds).
Press and shape the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch (25 mm) think.
Using biscuit cutters, cut rounds out of the dough. Make sure each round has a circumference that is cut dough (that is, we want to make sure the cutter actually presses through the dough on all sides; an uncut edge won't rise as well as a cut edge, so we want to make sure the whole circlue is cut). Pressing straight down with the biscuit cutter helps make clean cuts which allow for even rising. If you twist/rotate the cutter while pressing down, that can cause the edge of the biscuit dough to "pinch" on itself which inhibits rising on the edges (and thus less overall rise). If you don't have biscuit cutters, cut the dough into squares with a sharp knife after trimming the edges off (the edges won't rise easily).
As you cut biscuits, place them directly on a baking sheet pan. Place them close together, either just touching or about to touch. If they touch, it will help them rise but you'll need to pull them apart after they've been baked.
Scraps left over from the cuts can be pressed together and rerolled to make more biscuits, but these biscuits will be denser than the first group.
Continue to line you baking pan until you've used all the dough. With my large biscuit cutters and this recipe, I make eight biscuits.
Bake at 450°F (230°C) until risen and golden brown - about 15 minutes.
Remove the biscuits from the baking pan and place on a wire rack to cool. This prevents the bottoms from getting soggy as they cool. (In a pan, moisture from the steam begins to condense. On wire rack, the moisture from the steam can freely escape from the bottom of the biscuit into the air.)
Serve while warm or at room temperature.
Awesome recipe. Just curious, isn’t short grain or glutinous rice usually preferred for this dish?
My Korean housekeeper tried to teach me to cook those dishes I loved, and she always used the swish, rinse, water to the knuckle method. But I never knew exactly WHICH knuckle she meant. Never got it right, myself. So, which knuckle do YOU use?
You measure up to the first knuckle on the index finger. So wash your rice, stick your index finger in the water, just touch the rice. The water should reach the first knuckle, otherwise it’s one inch depth of water to whatever amount of rice you use.
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Thanks Jaden, this was one I was dying for. Glad you and the family are getting to spend time with PoPo
Jaden,
Question: as you mention that your parents live in Vegas, and your mom mailed you the hard to find ingredients, and I live in Vegas, where did your mom buy the preserved pork belly? I looked a couple of days ago at 99 Ranch in Chinatown and the Philippino fish market near UNLV, and while both stores carry a variety of Chinese sausages, neither have the pork belly. I did find cured and smoked ham, Chinese style. Can you recommend the store your mom buys these products at? There is at least one other international market I know of at Tropicana and Decatur. Can you help?
This was how I learned to cook rice when I was a little girl, pre-rice cookers. I can just smell the aroma from the entire combination you described. I’d love to recreate this at home. Any suggestions for good brands of cured pork belly and where to find it? Thanks for sharing this recipe, Jaden . Enjoy your mom’s visit!
Wow, that’s a lot of preserved meat for 2 cups of rice! The whole packages of both? I mean, I love lap yuk and lap cheong as much as the average Cantonese omnivore, but that really seems like a skewed ratio of meat to rice, even with veggies on the side.
I burn rice too many times! Think I need a clay pot!
This is one awesome recipe!
Such a great post! Love what you created, looks delicious and I’m going to try it! Here is my latest food related post if you wanna take a look
http://elmarama.blogspot.com/2014/05/strip-steak-with-roasted-potato-medley.html