A native of Louisiana, my Dad grew up near Avery Island, the birthplace of Tabasco sauce. He loved the hot stuff, something he passed on to all three of his kids beginning at a very young age. The incendiary red emulsion in its trademark red-topped bottle always had a place on the table and still does.
Given hot sauce's history in our family, I started exploring other searing preparations, including hot chili water from Hawaii, a staple in every refrigerator in the islands, as well as several varieties from Asia, including my own favorite, garlicky, hot Sriracha Sauce (as a child, my daughter labeled it “Rooster Sauce,” named for the bird's image on the bottle).
Rebecca Ellis
The story of Sriracha is indeed an American rags-to-riches immigrant tale, which makes it special to me. David Tran, a native of Vietnam, now 73, landed penniless at the end of the war in Los Angeles in 1975, longing not only for his homeland, but its signature hot sauce. He recreated it in his basement from fermented red jalapeño peppers and garlic, naming it Huy Fong after the Chinese ship he fled on from Viet Nam and peddling it to Asian grocery stories in the city. To make a long story short, Tran now presides over a 650,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Irwindale, CA and sold $60 million of the sauce last year. “Thumbs up to America!” he proclaimed.
You can make your own Sriracha, and as with most things homemade, it can taste better than the original. Plus it's fun to turn your home kitchen into a laboratory for Sriracha and other tasty fermented concoctions. Here's a recipe:
Ingredients
- 1 pound red jalapeños, stems cut off (if you cannot find red, use green. Sauce will be green but taste just as good)
- ½ pound red serrano chilis, stems cut off
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup water
- ½ cup white vinegar
Chop jalapeño and serrano peppers, retaining seeds and membranes, and place into a blender with garlic, brown sugar, salt and water. Blend until smooth, pulsing several times to start. Use rubber gloves when cutting up peppers and be sure to work in a well ventilated room or out on the deck.
Transfer to a large jar or pitcher. Cover container with plastic wrap and place in a cool, dark location for 3-5 days, stirring once a day. The mixture will begin to bubble and ferment. Scrape down the sides during each stirring. Rewrap and return to a cool, dark place until mixture is bubbly.
Pour fermented mixture back into blender with vinegar, blend until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a saucepan, pushing as much of the pulp as possible through the strainer into the sauce. Discard the remaining pulp, seeds and skin left in the strainer.
Bring sauce to a boil, stirring often, until reduced to desired thickness, 5-10 minutes. Skim any foam if desired.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Sauce will thicken a little when cooled. Transfer sauce to jars or bottles and refrigerate.
About the Writer:
Rebecca Jackson is a veteran newspaper person/journalist based in Bedford County, VA. A native of California and an M.A. graduate of Arizona State University, she has a passion for pets (animals), good food/cooking, music, wine, horticulture, photography and travel.