Homemade Sriracha

It's a well known fact that you can put Sriracha in and on just about anything — eggs, toast, rice, kale, potatoes, soup, vodka — the list goes on and on. The bottom line is that its perfect, tangy spice truly is the ultimate complement to any meal and Sriracha is a necessary component of life for any hot sauce lover. However, this beautiful red sauce was under threat. Yes — that's right. These pesky residents of Irwindale, California tried to force the plant to stop production (gasp). Don't worry though, no matter what happens we won't be letting you live a Sriracha-less life. Making your own Sriracha is surprisingly easy and while none of us can ever quite match the emblematic rooster sauce completely, this one will definitely tide you over in case of any upcoming shortages.

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Serving: yields 1 small jar of Sriracha

Recipe adapted from White on Rice Couple

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped red jalapeño peppers (roughly 7-8 peppers)

5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil (for sautéing)

1 15-oz can of tomato sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons sugar

Rubber gloves (for preparation)

Directions:

1. De-stem your jalapeño peppers. Remove the core and most of the seeds. Chop finely. It is recommended that you wear rubber gloves during this part. If you don't your hands will burn for hours.

2. Finely chop the garlic and shallots. Heat olive oil in a medium sized skillet and add garlic and shallots, sautéing until onions are beginning to turn translucent and garlic has just begun to brown (1-2 minutes).

3. Add the tomato sauce and jalapeño peppers. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and let it cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add in the fish sauce, vinegar, and sugar — mixing well to combine while still simmering over low heat. We know fish sauce may not be an ingredient that many of you have laying around in your pantry. But its a worthy investment for this recipe as it lends the sauce its savory kick. Look for it at Whole Foods or other health foods or Asian grocers (like M2M). If you really can't find it, feel free to try substituting soy sauce.

5. Simmer for about 5 more minutes then remove mixture from heat. Allow it to cool for half an hour.

6. After half an hour has passed, transfer mixture to a blender and process on the "liquify" setting until it has reached your desired consistency.

7. Feel free to play around with the final product, adding more sugar or vinegar to adjust the sweetness. Allow it to settle in the fridge for a few hours before serving. This sauce will only keep for about a week, so definitely experiment with putting Sriracha on anything and everything you consume.

Happy eating!

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