Fermented Sriracha
A proper fermented sriracha: red chillies, garlic, sugar and salt left to bubble for a few days, then blended with vinegar into a tangy, garlicky hot sauce.
makes 22 cubes, about 45p each
- Time
- 5 days 25 min15 min prep · 10 min cook · 5 days fermenting
- Makes
- 22 cubes
- Cost per cubePer cube
- 45p
- Calories per cubeCalories
- 24 kcal
- A serving
- 1 cube
- Spice
- 4 of 5
You’ll need
- 600gred chillies (red jalapeños or Fresno), stems removed
- 8 cloves (40g)garlic
- 50glight brown sugar
- 15gsalt
- 120mlrice vinegar
- 15mlfish sauce (optional)
Allergens: Fish. Check the labels on stock cubes, sauces and pastes, as brands vary.
Use it for
Noodles, fried rice and eggs · 1 cube; Sriracha mayo for burgers · 1 cube; Spicy chicken wings glaze · 2 cubes
Method
- Step 1: Wearing gloves, blitz the chillies, garlic, sugar and salt to a coarse paste.
- Step 2: Pack into a clean jar, cover loosely with clingfilm and leave at room temperature, out of the sun. Stir once a day with a clean spoon.
- Step 3: After 3 to 5 days it will start to bubble. Leave it 2 to 3 days more, until it stops rising.
- Step 4: Blend with the vinegar and fish sauce until smooth, push through a sieve, then simmer in a small pan for 7 to 10 minutes to thicken.
- Step 5: Cool, pour into 30ml trays and freeze.
| kcal | protein | carbs | fat | fibre | salt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cube | 24 | 0.7g | 5.3g | 0.1g | 0.4g | 0.84g |
Cook’s notes
- Thaw for 20 minutes; whisk to bring it back together.
- If you see fuzzy mould (not just bubbles), throw it away and start again with a clean jar.
- Leave out the fish sauce for a vegan sauce.
Use it for
- Noodles, fried rice and eggs · 1 cube
- Sriracha mayo for burgers · 1 cube
- Spicy chicken wings glaze · 2 cubes
Freeze, reheat and serve
- Freeze
- Cool it within two hours, freeze it in 30ml ice-cube trays, then bag and label the cubes. It keeps for 6 months.
- Use from frozen
- Thaw for 20 minutes; whisk to bring it back together. Never refreeze thawed cubes.
- A portion
- 1 cube is a serving: about 24 kcal.
Fermented Sriracha questions
Why ferment the chillies?
Fermenting gives the sauce its tangy, rounded, slightly funky flavour, which plain blended chillies don't have. It also mellows the raw garlic.
Can I skip the fermenting?
You can blend and simmer everything straight away for a quick chilli sauce. It will taste fresher and sharper but flatter, without the depth that makes sriracha distinctive.
Why sieve it?
Sieving removes the seeds and bits of skin so the sauce is smooth and pourable. Press hard with the back of a spoon to get as much through as you can.
Freezer meals that go with it
You might also like
Updated . Nutrition, costs and yields are estimates.