SRIRACHA HOT SAUCE COOKBOOK
Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
The Sriracha Cookbook - 50 "Rooster Sauce" Recipes That Pack a Punch
(Ten Speed Press) ISBN 978-1607740032 1607740036
Whether you make your own Sriracha Sauce or buy the hot sauce, you will love Randy Clemens' 50 recipes made with this Asian hot sauce. Illustrated with mouth-watering photos, they include spicy dip recipes, appetizers, main dishes, desserts and drinks.
How to make Sriracha sauce
Randy Clemens begins the 114-page hot sauce cookbook with a recipe for homemade Sriracha for readers unable to buy the hot spicy sauce.
The Sriracha recipes are organized by course, from appetizer to dessert. In the introduction to each recipe using the spicy condiment, he provides serving suggestions and cooking tips.
Sriracha dips
For example, Clemens recommends using his Sriracha pesto recipe as a spicy dip, tossed with pasta, or as a marinade for fish or chicken. In the bacon Sriracha cornbread recipe, Randy Clemens recommends soaking the cornmeal in buttermilk to improve the flavor and texture of the spicy cornbread.
Boxed sidebars at the end of many spicy recipes suggest recipe variations, e.g., adding chopped cooked bacon to the Sriracha dressing recipe to make a hot spicy sauce for baked potatoes or nachos.
Some Sriracha Cookbook sidebars feature time-saving tips. In his recipe for cheddar Sriracha swirl bread, Clemens suggests using fresh or frozen pizza dough instead of the homemade dough, if you are in a hurry.
Comparison of galangal and ginger
Other sidebars explain substitute ingredients, such as the differences between galangal and ginger. (Galangal is more peppery and pungent than ginger, but you can still substitute one for the other.)
Full-page color food and drink photos, by Leo Gong, illustrate the delicious recipes in The Sriracha Cookbook and some of the Sriracha ingredients, such as red jalapeno peppers.
Thai hot sauces
In the Introduction to The Sriracha Cookbook, Randy Clemens explains that the name of this hot chili sauce comes from the city of Sri Racha, Thailand, located 65 miles southeast of Bangkok. He lists several Thai Sriracha hot sauces, available at Asian stores, including Shark Brand, Cock Sauce and Golden Mountain Sriracha Panich.
The American version of Sriracha Sauce, also called Tuong Ot Sriracha and Rooster Sauce, was created in 1983 by David Tran and his hot sauce company, Huy Fong Foods, in Los Angeles, according to Randy Clemens.
Recipe ingredients are readily available. When occasional ingredients in Sriracha recipes are hard to find, Clemens provides an alternative, e.g., a recipe for homemade tomato vodka as a substitute for Crop Organic Tomato Vodka.
Sample Sriracha hot sauce recipes
Sriracha Mayo and Sriracha Ketchup. Sriracha Cream Cheese. Kicked Up Party Nuts. Honey Sriracha Glazed Buffalo Wings. Sriracha Kimchee. Sriracha Slaw. Thai Chicken Coconut Soup. Maple Sriracha Sausage Patties. Veggie Sriracha Frittata. Sriracha Lamb Kebabs. Grilled Short Ribs. Peach Sriracha Sorbet. Spiced Sriracha Truffles.
Contents
Introduction
Sriracha: A Thai Original
Huy Fong: Bringing It to America
Sauces and Seasonings
Starters and Snacks
Salads and Sides
Soups and Stews
Breakfast of Champions
Main Courses
Drinks and Desserts
Index
Author
Randy Clemens is a food writer, a graduate of the California School of Culinary Arts and a big fan of Sriracha hot sauces.