Sriracha

Rooster Sauce, Version 3

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My attempts at a homemade Sriracha-like sauce (aka Rooster sauce) continue.  This version seems to balance the heat and taste closer to my liking, so I think I’m about to where I want it to be.  The heat is there but not overwhelming, and the taste has some richness and complexity to it.

I consider this a success (indeed all the sauces have been good, I’m just improving it over time).  The only issue is the heat outlasts the taste longer than I’d like, so I’m wondering what else I can do – I’d rather a taste that stays along longer than reducing the heat much more.  At the same time it’s just pretty damn good so why mess with it?

Let me know if you have any ideas!

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lbs red chili peppers; Fresno, jalapeño, or Serrano
  • 2 habanero peppers
  • 2 red bell pepper
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 8 Tbsp crushed garlic cloves garlic (24 cloves)
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  1. Remove stems and split jalapeño and habanero peppers. Dice the red pepper.
  2. Puree all ingredients but red wine vinegar and soy sauce in blender/food processor into a coarse mix.
  3. Place mix in airtight jar. Leave for seven days to ferment, stirring once a day with a wooden spoon.
  4. Place mixture into pan with vinegar, bring to boil, then reduce heat to simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Remove from heat, let cool, stirring occasionally.
  6. Place mixture into a strainer over a bowl. Press mixture with wooden spoon repeatedly to drain all the liquid.
  7. Add soy sauce to drained liquid. Pour liquid into bottle via a funnel.
  8. Store in refrigerator. It should keep for three months, maybe as long as six.

Respectfully,

– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

Rooster Sauce: Take 2

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My second go at making Sriracha.  This version is now almost too hot, but has a far more complex and satisfying taste than the all jalapeño version.  Using multiple forms of pepper, and probably more garlic, really added a lot to the dish.  Really all I think I have to do now is adjust the heat, which probably means halving the habanero and adding one more red pepper.

Note when the mash ferments, the scent changes radically over time – initially it had a sharp and rather unappealing scent, but it mellowed and matured into something far more unified in scent and, obviously, taste.

Please note when chopping peppers – wear gloves and goggles.  Yes, goggles – I keep a pair of goggles for when I cook with irritating foods.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs red chili peppers; Fresno, jalapeño, or Serrano
  • 4 habanero peppers
  • 1 red pepper
  • 3 tbsp maple syrup
  • 8 Tbsp crushed garlic cloves garlic (24 cloves)
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  1. Remove stems and split jalapeño and habanero peppers. Dice the red pepper.
  2. Puree all ingredients but red wine vinegar and soy sauce in blender/food processor into a coarse mix.
  3. Place mix in airtight jar. Leave for seven days, stirring once a day with a wooden spoon.
  4. Place mixture into pan with vinegar, bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes, let cool. Stir.
  5. Place mixture into a strainer over a bowl. Press mixture with wooden spoon repeatedly to drain all the liquid.
  6. Add soy sauce to drained liquid. Pour liquid into bottle via a funnel.
  7. Store in refrigerator. It should keep for three months, maybe as long as six.

 

Respectfully,

– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/

Rooster Sauce (Steve’s Sriracha)

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So in the end I decided to learn how to make Sriracha.  I am not addicted to the sauce like many, but it’s OK and it’d be nice to have a good hot sauce – oh, and it’s fun to try.  Here’s my first round.

  • 2 lbs red chili peppers; I used jalapeños.
  • 3 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 Tbsp crushed garlic cloves garlic (12 cloves)
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • ½ cup red wine vinegar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  1. Remove step and split peppers
  2. Puree all ingredients but red wine vinegar and soy sauce in blender into a coarse mix.
  3. Place mix in airtight jar. Leave for seven days, stirring once a day with a wooden spoon.
  4. Place mixture into pan with vinegar, bring to boil, simmer 5 minutes, let cool. Stir.
  5. Place mixture into a strainer over a bowl. Press mixture with wooden spoon repeatedly to drain all the liquid.
  6. Add soy sauce to drained liquid. Pour liquid into an airtight bottle via a funnel.
  7. Store in refrigerator. May keep up to six months, but not sure.

The result?  Not bad the first try, it’s got a good taste, a slow but not unpleasant burn afterwards, a bit like a tabasco, though frankly I like it far better than tabasco.  Not as much character as I’d like, probably as it’s really just a pile of jalapeños, and I think I got the garlic wrong.

However it’s still darned tasty, makes a good hot sauce, and has that fresh, home-made taste that is just unique.  I also mix it with equal parts soy sauce as an absolutely amazing dip.

So next try, I’m going to drop a few jalapeños, add a habanero and a regular red pepper for diversity, double the garlic, maybe add one more tbsp maple syrup, and possibly twice the soy sauce.

However until then, I’ll enjoy this . . .

<strong>- Steven Savage</strong>

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, publishes books on career and culture at http://www.informotron.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.