The Sriracha Cookbook Blog
Month
My first exposure to the wonderful world of Sriracha was at my friend Phi’s house. His mom offered it with her amazing Vietnamese fried rice (cơm chiên) and I fell in love. It wasn’t long before Phi took me to Phở Số 1, and it was there that I had my first bowl of heavenly phở, topped with a handful of exciting green herbs I barely recognized and a healthy drizzling of Sriracha. I was hooked.
Phi and I have been great friends for 12 years now, and it was this July that I was able to accompany him to Vietnam and see what phở was really all about. We’ve definitely taken some liberties with it here, but I really like what phở has become here in the ol’ U.S. of A. But there is plenty of bad phở out there. To help steer you clear of faux phở, the OCWeekly just recently posted this list: Five Signs of a Good Pho Restaurant. I think it’s pretty spot on, and I wanted to share it with you.
I thought #2 on the list was especially apropos. Seriously, if you don’t even see a bottle of Sriracha on the table, you’re in the wrong place. True that you won’t find it on phở in Vietnam, but here in the States, phở and Sriracha are like peas and carrots, baby.
2. Chile Choice
[O]n every table will be a carousel of various sauces. Sriracha (rooster sauce) is a given, but look for hoisin sauce and other chile preparations: chile paste and dried chiles in “red oil”. The more chile preparations on the table, the more likely it is to cater to a Vietnamese clientele, and the more likely you are to have good phở.
Five Signs of a Good Pho Restaurant (via OCWeekly)
Photo: Phở Accoutrements, from Flickr user jon|k
Maple-Chili Pumpkin Seeds: 2 c unwashed seeds, ½ tsp Sriracha, 1 Tbsp maple syrup, ¾ tsp salt. Roast @ 300F 20 min. Cool. Devour.
This super-easy recipe was posted on Twitter this morning by SimpleBites.net editor Aimée Wimbush-Bourque. (I have a special place in my heart for entire recipes that can be squeezed into less than 140 characters! Especially when they use Sriracha!)
It’s a great way to use up the pumpkin seeds you were just going to throw away, or spice up the batch you were going to roast with just plain old salt. The heat of Sriracha and sweetness of the maple syrup will take your pepitas to new heights!
Check out more great recipes at SimpleBites.net
Follow @simplebites on Twitter
“Sriracha sauce is the reason I began this blog. I’ve often gazed in the eyes of this rooster, wondering if I could eat the whole thing. One bad idea led to another, and the blog was born.”
Check out the rest of his Sriracha drenched day and see if he somehow made it through. I LOVE me some Sriracha, but I don’t think even I could get through an entire bottle in a day! [Rooster Sauce Challenge @ The Smoking Tongue]
Huy Fong Foods, makers of my favorite Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, are expanding to meet exceeding demand. Expected to be completed next year, the new factory will essentially triple their floor space and allow them to increase production of Sriracha and their other chili sauces tenfold by 2016.
Kudos to the Tran Family on their continued success. Sriracha for all!
Sriracha, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and candied lemon dressing? Wow. Joanne Chang (eponymous chef/owner of Myers + Chang) continues to inspire and delight.