A few years ago, there was a scare with the Sriracha factory that lead many to many reports that the spicy sauce Titan would be going out of business. There was a siege of students descending upon supermarkets to stock up on what is basically the only condiment that is absolutely necessary to have on hand at any given time. Fortunately, Sriracha survived but we were all left with a stockpile of sauce to make use of. Here’s 10 of the ways to use this magical sauce of versatility:
1) Sriracha salt: If you’ve ever had a craving for some Peri Peri chips from Nandos (which, if you’re a living, breathing human, you most certainly have) this is a way to tackle that craving without having to break the bank. Mix salt and Sriracha together, and coat some chips in the combination.
2) Salad dressing: Making the effort to get together the ingredients to make your own salad is a lot to ask for, so the likelihood of buying an entire bottle of salad dressing for the one time you manage to do so is fairly low. Pour a little Sriracha over your homemade salad for a quick fix.
3) Salsa substitute: Add a little Sriracha to an omelette next time you decide to throw together some eggs and peppers – you’ll be left with a lowbrow huevos rancheros.
4) Tandoori chicken: This is a way to avoid spending money on yet another Indian takeaway. Mix Sriracha and plain Greek yogurt together as a marinade for diced chicken. Put this in oven for about half an hour; it won’t exactly be a tandoori chicken, but it’ll be close enough for an at-home attempt.
5) Chilli pineapple: Pineapple with chilli powder or spices is a popular presentation of the fruit in many South Asian countries. If you’re feeling adventurous, put some Sriracha on some pineapple slices. You can tell your friends that this is authentic international cuisine.
6) Popcorn: Instead of putting butter on your popcorn, try drizzling a bit of Sriracha and chocolate sauce for a slightlier fancier movie snack.
7) Chilli chocolate: Ever had chilli infused chocolate? Well this is the same idea. Take some chocolate squares and squeeze a bit of Sriracha over them. Call it experimental cooking.
8) Bloody Mary’s: It would be uni if you didn’t try and recreate fancy cocktails on a student’s budget. Typically lots of mystery ingredients go into a classy brunch cocktail, but the key ones for a Bloody Mary are typically tomato juice, vodka, and some sort of pepper. Instead of pepper, squeeze some Sriracha into your cocktail. Pop a celery stalk in and be proud of howsophisticated you are – almost.
9) Hummus: Nowadays, hummus comes in all sorts of different flavors and varieties. Create your own speciality artisan hummus from the convenience of your own kitchen by mixing some Sriracha sauce into regular plain hummus. Enjoy the feeling of superiority you get from eating your homemade ‘specialty hummus’.
10) Chaser: We have all experienced the horrible feeling of having some leftover liquor but not having anything on hand to chase those shots with. If you do not want to be that person who resorts to chasing a shot of vodka with water (*a truly harrowing experience), then I would encourage you to reach for a bit of Sriracha. Just squirt a bit onto the back of your hand, as you would with salt for a tequila shot, and then proceed from there. Warning: if you do try this suggestion out, you are likely to round off your not in Hive, so proceed with caution.