Posts Tagged ‘asian’

Sriracha is one of those running jokes amongst people in the food & beverage industry. You can walk into any kind of restaurant kitchen – Italian, French, Latin American, etc, – and more than likely, a bottle of the green-lidded fiery red sauce will be found somewhere. For some, it’s a substitute for everything from ketchup to mayonnaise, and will be poured on any and everything they eat. I always think of the episode of Top Chef when Casey put it into her Cold Stone Creamery ice cream. I’m not that hardcore, but it is delicious. It’s simply a paste of chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. Spicy, sweet, and commonly seen with Thai or Vietnamese food, it’s well-loved (and rightly so).

So when I saw a recipe for buttermilk sriracha salad dressing a few months ago I kept it in the back of my mind, waiting to use it until the right idea struck. And finally, it did.

I’m a big fan of indulging in spicy chicken wings dipped in ridiculously rich and cooling sauces, so the idea of chicken drumsticks dipped in this srirarcha buttermilk ‘ranch’ seemed perfect. Making a Vietnamese-themed marinade (I know I know srirarcha is Thai but it’s right there on the table at any Vietnamese restaurant, too!) and grilling the chicken makes this a fresh and fun summer dish and great to serve at parties. You can go with wings and legs (or even breasts), just use whatever chicken you like best. It’s all good.

Time to take a little break from fall/squash/cinnamon flavors and do something a little different. This post is a miniature tribute to two things: one of my best friends Rachel and Gourmet magazine.  I didn’t intend for this to happen but it was just one of those realizations as you begin to work with something. Rach teaches in Bahrain but is from Minnesota, so we’re both Midwestern fall-loving girls at heart. Since she doesn’t really get to experience autumn, this was a way for me to give her something fun and easy to cook, and give me a break from typical autumnal flavor profiles.

As for Gourmet, this is a web-exclusive recipe of theirs, which is my sad little homage to a fantastic magazine that will be missed. Word is the website will be gone come the new year, and after looking at my bookmarked recipes and seeing row after row of entries with little black and white “G”s marking them, I was disheartened. I get inspired by food photography and food print almost more than anything, so the idea that Gourmet, one of the best (if not the best) will no longer be there to give me ideas is heartbreaking. So I salute you, Rach in Bahrain with no fall leaves, and Gourmet magazine for inspiring me all these years.

Now for the recipe – this is a super quick and yummy noodle dish, perfect for substitutions and open to putting your own spin on it. I’m a huge fan of spicy eggplant dishes from Asian take-out, so I threw that in, with some more spices and soy to layer the flavors. The flavor is rich and spicy, but also refreshing from the cilantro and basil. And like any good wok dish, it’s all about super high heat with short cooking time, which makes this a perfect fast weeknight dinner.