Homemade Sriracha Sauce and Chile Paste

Homemade Sriracha Sauce

This stuff is great, easy to make, and it beats the heck out of the kind you buy in the store.

I've certainly used my fair share of the Huy Fong brand and linked to it in previous postings, but who needs that when you can easily make it yourself!

This version is fresh, healthy, and preservative-free. It's just all-natural spicy goodness.

So first things first, the creator of this recipe is Edamame and her blog is entitled The Year of Eating Consciously. She did a fantastic job of re-creating a completely healthy and flavorful version. Amazing, easy to follow and do yourself. In fact, I even got 2 condiments (Sriracha Sauce and Chile Paste) from this one recipe as I'll describe below. Obviously, there are infinite possibilities when mixing either of these 2 condiments with other things like mayonnaise (spicy mayo), creme fraiche (spicy cream), etc!


Note: I made some modifications to Edamame's recipe based on available ingredients and personal preference. 1) I love garlic so I added more garlic. 2) She doesn't like to add too much salt but I like the flavor it gives so I added more. 3) I couldn't get palm sugar so I used a substitute. Feel free to follow her recipe exactly or suit to your taste.

red fresno chiles, kosher salt, and garlic

Prep: You will need to allow time for the peppers to sit in the brine overnight. Once done it takes minutes to finish the sauce.

marinating in their vinegar bath

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce and about 1/4 cup paste

Ingredients:

1/2 pound red fresno chiles (you could also use red jalapenos)

6-8 large cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 Tablespoon kosher salt (or sea salt)

1 cup distilled white vinegar

2 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon molasses

You may wish to wear rubber gloves when chopping peppers to avoid burning from the hot peppers, however I did not. I was careful to avoid touching the seeds and didn't have any issues. Chop stems off of peppers and discard the stems. Cut peppers into thirds or small chunks and place in a glass bowl or jar.

Add garlic, salt, and vinegar, then cover and let sit overnight.

peppers, garlic, salt, and vinegar

Carefully pour contents of jar or bowl into a saucepan over high heat and mix in brown sugar and molasses. Bring to a boil. Reduce and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature.

Transfer mixture to a food processor or blender and blend for 5 minutes. Your end result will be a smooth, orangey-red sauce.

Place a strainer over a bowl and pour the mixture through. You will need to use a spoon or spatula to push through until all the liquid is through.

strain into a bowl

finished straining, notice what's in the strainer..
looks like chile paste!

beautiful fresh Sriracha Sauce!
pour into a bottle or jar with a lid, store in refrigerator

Pour the sauce from the bowl into a bottle or a jar with a lid and store in your refrigerator. It will keep at least a month (if it lasts that long!). Sauce will mellow in a day or two of sitting in the fridge, but I used mine immediately.

Chile Paste

The part you strained out can be used as a chile paste (similar to the kind you see on the tables at Thai restaurants). I simply put it in a jar and added some extra-virgin olive oil to keep it from drying out and placed in the refrigerator, covered. You can cook with it or just spoon it over any dish you want to add a little spice. I tried it and it is delicious!

2/16/11 Update:  I enjoyed my original batch of Sriracha Sauce for about 5 months and every last drop was delicious. Remember to keep it stored in a sealed bottle in your refrigerator.

8/20/12 Update:  I still love this recipe! Just made a fresh batch (Sriracha sauce and chile paste) and it's as amazing as ever. Pretty fool proof, too. I left the peppers/garlic mixture brining for a few days instead of overnight (because I didn't have time), and then I accidentally added way more molasses than my original recipe - and it still came out great!