The Hot Sauce Cookbook (16 page)

Raj Dixit’s Green Curry Chow-Chow

RAJ DIXIT’S GREEN CURRY CHOW-CHOW

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Makes about 6 pints
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A sweet-and-sour combination of cabbage, onions, and whatever else was left in the garden at canning time, chow-chow was once very popular across the American South. Some say chow-chow was a Chinese relish introduced by railroad workers. Other claim that the name comes from
chou
, the French word for cabbage, and that it came to western Louisiana from Nova Scotia with the Cajuns. Chow-chow is often mixed with mayo or remoulade on cold-cut poorboys. Try this with pork chops or sliced pork tenderloin.   
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With so much garden production, the Inn at Dos Brisas has plenty of ingredients for chow-chow. Celery, fennel, and squash all taste great in this pickled relish. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

4 cups chopped onions

4 cups chopped cabbage

2 cups chopped green tomato

2 cups chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped red bell pepper

½ cup kosher or pickling salt

2 tablespoons brown mustard seeds

1 tablespoon celery seeds

1 tablespoon dry mustard powder

3 cups sugar

1 cup cider vinegar

1¼ cups
Green Curry Paste

Fresh thai chiles, for garnish

Basil leaves, for serving

Combine the onions, cabbage, green tomatoes, green bell pepper, and red bell pepper (or vegetables of your choice) in a mixing bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Mix well. Allow the mixture to sweat for 12 hours or up to 1 day in the refrigerator.

Combine the mustard seeds, celery seeds, mustard powder, sugar, and vinegar in a soup pot on the stove over medium heat. Rinse the salted vegetable mixture with cold water in a colander or strainer in several batches to remove some
of the saltiness. Add the rinsed vegetables to the vinegar mixture in the soup pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until thickened, but juicy, about 1 hour.

When the chow-chow is ready, add the green curry paste and mix well. Store the chow-chow in the refrigerator for up to a week. Alternatively, preserve the chow-chow in pint jars: Fill each jar with chow-chow and add a fresh Thai chile for garnish, then close the lid tightly. Place the pint jars in a large, empty stockpot, making sure the jars do not touch, and place the stockpot on the stove. Fill the stockpot with cold water to cover the jars by at least 1 inch, then put the lid on and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil and then let the jars boil for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the jars from the stockpot using tongs, let cool, then check the seals.

To serve, mix a cup or so of chow-chow with a few basil leaves and serve in a small bowl as a condiment.

RAJ DIXIT’S PINEAPPLE PIQUE

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Makes 4 cups
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Pique, the Puerto Rican hot sauce made by steeping fruit and peppers in vinegar, is the traditional sauce with
lechon
, the island’s famous spit-roasted pork dish. Pique is also used liberally splashed on broiled fish and other seafood dishes. This elaborate pineapple pique variation was concocted by chef Raj Dixit. Use as a dipping sauce for shrimp or other seafood, or as a barbecue sauce with roasted pork.

2 cups rice vinegar

1 cup pineapple juice

2 large slices of pineapple rind

2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

4 fresh green Thai chiles, halved lengthwise

1 habanero-type chile, halved

1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds

1 tablespoon black peppercorns

1 sprig of fresh herb, such as thyme or oregano

1 tablespoon salt

Combine all the ingredients in a 1-quart mason jar and screw on the lid. Leave outside overnight and all day in the sun. Set aside on a counter or in a cupboard and allow to steep for at least 2 weeks and up to several months. Strain the sauce and serve as a condiment.

Raj Dixit’s Pineapple Pique and Crushed Red Pepper Dipping Sauce:
For a hotter version, pour 1 cup of prepared pique into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of crushed dried chile pequíns, Aleppo peppers, or other crushed red pepper.

ZAK PELACCIO’S MALAYSIAN CHICKEN WINGS

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Serves 6; makes about 30 whole wings
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When Zak Pelaccio lived in Kuala Lumpur, one of his favorite street-food carts sold sweet and spicy chicken wings. He ate a lot of them. In Asia, street food isn’t an occasional snack that you eat between meals—for many people, it’s the source of every cooked meal.   
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In Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, the temperature seldom dips below 90°F and many homes are not air-conditioned. Tossing together a salad or cutting up some fruit is not a problem under these circumstances, but serious cooking, like frying and grilling are more sensibly done outdoors.   
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Asian street vendors buy their ingredients in bulk and sell famous items like chili crab and fish noodles for less than a home cook would spend trying to recreate the dishes. At Pelaccio’s New York restaurant, Fatty Crab, he offers his own approximation of Malaysian street food. Here’s his recipe for Kuala Lumpur chicken wings, adapted from
Food and Wine
magazine. It’s definitely best
to grind your own spices

12 small dried red Thai chiles, toasted and ground

3 tablespoons ground coriander seeds

1½ tablespoons ground fennel seeds

1 tablespoon ground cumin seeds

½ cup sugar

cup molasses

½ cup fish sauce

½ cup low-sodium soy sauce

⅓ cup soy sauce

8 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

1 (4-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

5 pounds whole chicken wings (or a combination of chicken wings and drumsticks)

Combine the ground chiles and spices in a medium bowl and whisk in the sugar, molasses, fish sauce, soy sauces, garlic, and ginger. Divide the wings among 2 or 3 zippered plastic bags and pour in the marinade. Refrigerate for 4 hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Cover two baking sheets with aluminum foil and place wire racks on each baking sheet.

Remove the wings from the marinade and pat dry with paper towels; reserve the marinade. Arrange the wings on the wire racks set on the baking sheets. Roast for about 40 minutes, or until well browned and cooked through.

While the wings are cooking, strain the marinade into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook over medium-high heat until thick and sticky, about 20 minutes. Transfer the marinade to a large bowl. When the wings are done, add them to the bowl and toss to coat with the sauce. Pile on plates and serve immediately.

DAVID CHANG’S RED-EYE MAYO

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Makes 1 cup
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Not many people realize that David Chang is a Southerner (he grew up in Virginia). This twangy sauce was inspired by the red-eye gravy Southerners eat for breakfast. The original is made in the frying pan that bacon or country ham was cooked in. Chang serves this version, adapted from his book
Momofuku
, with paper-thin slices of country ham. Skip this recipe if you want to avoid eating raw eggs.

1 large egg

1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals

2 tablespoons cold water

1½ teaspoons sherry vinegar

½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste

½ teaspoon Sriracha sauce,
homemade
or store-bought, or more to taste

1 cup grapeseed or other neutral oil

Combine the egg, instant coffee, water, vinegar, salt, and Sriracha in a food processor or blender (or, if making the mayonnaise by hand, in a mixing bowl). Start the machine (or start whisking) and add the grapeseed oil in a slow, steady stream. Process (or whisk) until the mixture is thick and creamy. Check it for seasoning (it may, but probably won’t, need more salt) and use immediately, or store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Easy Version:
Omit the egg and grapeseed oil. Add the coffee, vinegar, salt, and Sriracha to 1 cup of bottled mayonnaise and mix well.

BRYAN CASWELL’S SRIRACHA CITRUS REMOULADE

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Makes 1½ cups
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Bryan Caswell grew up on Cajun remoulade, the spicy mayonnaise usually made with Creole mustard. I love the Sriracha remoulade he serves with the French fries at his slider restaurant in Houston, Little Big’s. When I make Sriracha remoulade at home, I usually cheat and start with a bottled mayonnaise. Here’s Caswell’s recipe for the made-from-scratch version. Skip this recipe if you want to avoid eating raw eggs.

2 egg yolks

1½ teaspoons chopped shallot

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed orange juice

3 tablespoons Sriracha sauce,
homemade
or store-bought

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¾ cup grapeseed oil, plus a bit more if needed

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

In a mixing bowl, combine egg yolks, shallot, garlic, lime juice, grapefruit juice, orange juice, Sriracha sauce, salt, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour the oil in slowly, whisking vigorously; add a bit more oil, if consistency is too thick. Stir in the cilantro just before serving.

Easy Version:
Omit the egg yolks and grapeseed oil. Start with 1½ cups bottled mayonnaise and stir in the other ingredients, adding the cilantro just before serving.

BRYAN CASWELL’S SHRIMP WITH SRIRACHA CITRUS REMOULADE

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Serves 4
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Bryan Caswell is a vocal supporter of Gulf seafood. And he will remind you that wild-caught Gulf shrimp is always a safer bet than farm-raised shrimp from unspecified and untested Asian sources. Wild-caught Gulf brown shrimp is the most flavorful shrimp on the market. It’s the perfect choice for spicy dishes like this one. If you don’t like the “iodine” flavor of brown shrimp, try the milder-flavored wild-caught Gulf white shrimp.

Basting Butter

1 cup butter, softened

1½ tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1½ tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3 tablespoons dry white wine

½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Curry Rub

1½ tablespoons powdered chile, such as Aleppo or chile pequín

1½ tablespoons ground cumin

1½ tablespoons white pepper

1 tablespoon Madras curry powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon paprika

1½ teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper

1½ pounds large (18–24 count) Gulf shrimp, peeled and deveined

Sriracha Citrus Remoulade
, to serve

Soak several bamboo skewers in water to cover for 20 minutes. Spray a gas grill with cooking oil spray and preheat to hot.

To make the basting butter, combine the butter, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a food processor and pulse until blended. Combine the wine and lemon juice in a separate bowl. With the food processor running, slowly add the wine and lemon juice to the butter mixture and process until smooth.

To make the curry rub, mix all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

Thread the shrimp onto the skewers (they should touch and all face the same way). Brush with the basting butter, then dust generously with the rub. Put the skewers on the hot grill and cook with the lid down, or cover the shrimp with the lid of a large pan. Brush several times with basting butter and turn once. Sprinkle with more rub as needed. Cook until done, about 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with the remoulade.

RANDY CLEMENS’S SRIRACHA-SESAME FRUIT SALAD

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Serves 6 to 8
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