Sriracha Sauce

These are very hot little firecrackers from the orient. They can be used to add spice to almost any oriental dish. They dry very easily and can be stored and used this way for a long time.

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Ingredients:

1 pound fresh red serrano, cayenne, Thai, or chile de arbol chiles, stems removed
2-1/2 cups rice vinegar (or substitute white distilled vinegar)
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. salt

Instructions:

Remove the stems from the chiles. Place the chiles and vinegar in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Turn off the heat and add the sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Place the saucepan contents in a food processor or blender and puree until a smooth thin-paste consistency. Add additional rice vinegar if the mixture is too thick. Allow the mixture to steep for several hours and place in glass containers, and refrigerate. The consistency should be slightly thinner than ketchup.

Optional: Strain the sauce through a sieve and discard the solids for a smooth, seedless consistency.

Yields 3-4 cups.

Recipe adapted from The Hot Sauce Bible, by Dave DeWitt and Chuck Evans, The Crossing Press, 1996.