Last week, I ran out of one of my cooking crutches: Sriracha chili sauce.
You guys, I felt like I’d lost my way! I knew I used it at pretty much every meal but for whatever reason my dependence didn’t compute until we were fresh out. Plans to get more on Monday failed, because the Kroger by my house doesn’t seem to carry it! I tried adding heat to dishes all manner of ways, and on Tuesday finally came up with a passable combination.
Let’s be clear here: it was no Sriracha. It was close enough, though, to tide me over until I could hit another store in search of my favorite hot sauce.
It was a Twitter friend who said, “it’s the bite of heat + vinegar that makes it sooo good.” Yes! She was so right! A pinch of cayenne and about a teaspoon of rice vinegar approximated Sriracha’s hot, tangy flavor. I put that amount into a bowl of rice and veggies, but you might want to adjust to your taste, since I tend to douse things in hot sauce these days.
Do you guys have cooking crutches like this? Things that seriously hinder your cooking when they run out? I’d love to hear what ingredients you couldn’t cook without!
Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by idovermani
10 Responses to Four Days Without Sriracha
Connect & Explore!
Pages
Lunch Bags! The Book!
Sponsors
So funny, Sriracha is actually included in the most recent Mental Floss magazine as a piece of great Americana!
Down here, we have Tony Chachere’s cajun/creole seasoning. This stuff is GOOD. We’ll use it on just about anything. I actually brought some with me when I spent a month in London – I was afraid I’d go crazy otherwise!
Haha I know that feeling! When I went away for a week last summer, I took a shaker full of nutritional yeast, bc I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be readily available at our destination.
I’ll have to look into the Tony Cachere’s!
My crutch is Bragg Liquid Aminos. Rarely can I make a savory dish without it, and when I run out I feel so lost!
I’ve eyed Braggs at the store and wondered about it! Do you feel like it’s had a positive effect on your health, or do you just love its deliciousness? Or both?
I just love the deliciousness, I don’t really think it’s much better for your health than soy sauce except it has way less sodium. I find myself using it in place of salt, much of the time. My favorite use is to lightly parboil sliced tempeh, then sautee it in a little olive oil, add some Bragg’s once the sides are starting to brown. Then right near the end of cooking, throw in some swiss chard, splash with Bragg’s again, and wait for the greens to wilt. SO YUMMY.
Oh, awesome! I didn’t realize it was lower in sodium than soy sauce. I’ll have to pick some up. That tempeh sounds delightful!
Oh yeah one more thing–the iron skillet is definitely best for that dish. And you can just lightly parboil the tempeh in the same skillet. Just let the water burn off and then put the olive oil in. Have fun! :)
Oooh, I worry about that happening to me, but I have a spare bottle in my pantry at all times.
Right? My friend Chris suggested picking up a six pack so it won’t happen again for a long time. It’s tempting!
[...] do you guys remember my Sriracha problem from last week? Jason over at Hot Sauce Planet totally felt my pain and emailed to let me know. I [...]