The Sriracha Cookbook Author Randy Clemens

The Sriracha Cookbook – 50 Rooster Sauce Recipes That Pack a Punch

The newest and most unique Sriracha Sauce cookbook is about to hit the shelves, and the author Randy Clemens himself has written a guest blog post for us. Read on…

Hi. My name is Randy Clemens, and I am a Sriracha-holic. Back when I was in high school, a friend of mine – we’ll call him Phi… because that’s his name – frequently had me over to his house just to hang out and be teenagers and all that. But besides the camaraderie, I was always ready to come over at a moment’s notice for some of his mom’s AMAZING Vietnamese cooking.

Lemongrass? Jackfruit? Fish sauce? What are these flavors and where have they been all my life?! Then, one day, it happened. I had stayed the night, and she had made a huge pot of fried rice for us for breakfast. And there it was… sitting on the table in all of its regal red glory. Waiting for me.

Sriracha? This looks interesting!

I was no stranger to hot sauce for breakfast; Tabasco on hash browns is still one of my favorite Sunday morning indulgences. But this… this was different. I drizzled a touch of this so-called “rooster sauce” on my heaping mound of rice and dove right it. It was like I could hear Aladdin and Jasmine singing “A Whole New World” in my head. I was on that magic carpet! O Sriracha! What took me so long to find you?

From then on, I didn’t just want Sriracha; I needed it. I went through the typical “Sriracha on Everything” phase that I think all Sriracha neophytes encounter. But over the years, I started learning to appreciate it not only as a condiment, but also as a cooking ingredient. The heat of the chiles perked up with the acidic tang of vinegar, balanced out a bit with a touch of sugar, all married together with the holy pungency of garlic? It seemed the food was practically begging me to use Sriracha in my cooking. It just sounded like it would work so well… and oh, did it ever.

The more I played around with incorporating Sriracha into my favorite recipes, the more I became addicted. It wasn’t just for Asian food anymore, either. Oh no, the flood gates had been opened and the streets ran red with rooster sauce. Nothing was safe. Nothing was sacred. And it became easier for me to get my fix over time. No longer did I have to head to the Asian market to pick up a bottle. I could get it at Ralphs or Wal-Mart if I wanted to. It started popping up on TV – Emeril, Martha Stewart, Top Chef – you name it, if there was such a thing as Sriracha stock, I would have bought 20 bajillion shares.

There were some haters in the mix, calling it “Hipster Sauce” and other disparaging names, just because it was becoming popular. Some argued that all it did was make food taste like Sriracha (and so what btw? Sriracha is delicious!). But I felt compelled to share my recipes… to dispel this notion that Sriracha was just a one-trick pony. To stand up for the hot sauce that I knew and loved so damn well! But how? I wanted to put together a Sriracha cookbook, but I didn’t know the first thing about where to start.

I was lamenting to a friend – we’ll call her Sandra… because that’s her name – that I had been thinking about writing this cookbook about Sriracha, and she kind of cut me off and said, “So, do it.” She didn’t mean anything by it, I don’t think. But it festered in my brain over the next couple days… and weeks. Every time I thought up an excuse why I couldn’t or shouldn’t or whatever, her words were there, but more as a, “So? Do it.”

And of course I had a few bottles of Sriracha always looking at me funny… scolding me… making me feel guilty for keeping all the amazing recipes to my selfish self. So, I made the decision to go for it – to share my passion for cooking with Sriracha, and here we are, over a year later, and its publication is drawing near. I’m ecstatic and I know that you’ll find some new favorite recipes, starring America’s new favorite hot sauce: Sriracha!

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Photo credit: Leo Gong © 2010

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