Smoky Sriracha

Sriracha, that now-ubiquitous spicy red sauce with the rooster on the bottle, is one of our all-time favorite things. We use it in our spicy peanut sauce, on grilled corn, in soups, stews, and curries. Really, we just drizzle it on anything that needs a little flavor boost, even at breakfast! Why is this stuff so good? It hits hard on many fronts: it's salty, spicy, a little acidic, and a little sweet. In other words, it's nearly perfect. So, we messed with it, of course. Rather than add sugar, we roasted the red jalapeños to bring out their own natural sweetness. This process also adds a nice bit of smokiness, which really ups the ante by adding an additional note to traditional sriracha sauce's symphony of flavor.

This sauce is really simple to make, and the ingredients aren't hard to find. If red jalapeños aren't available -- I usually find them at the Asian market -- you can make a sauce that's just as delicious using green ones. The xanthan gum is totally optional. All it does it keep the sauce from separating in the fridge. If you don't add it, just stir it up before each use.

Smoky Sriracha

8 cups red jalapeño peppers
1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves
1/2 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (optional)

Over a fire or under your oven's broiler, roast the red jalapeños until blackened just as you would do if you were roasting a red bell pepper. Place roasted red jalapeños and the raw garlic cloves into a covered container and allow them to cool. Once it's all cool enough to handle, use a pair of kitchen shears to trim off the stem and discard. Into the blender or food processor, place the trimmed jalapeños (blackened skin and all), garlic, vinegar, salt, and optional xanthan gum and blend until smooth. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. (Makes 2 cups.)