Thai Sriracha Sauce

The now ubiquitous and addictive Thai Sriracha sauce is smoking hot in culinary circles, so to speak. It’s surprisingly easy to craft your own fresher tasting chili-garlic sauce at home. Using smaller red chilies such as bird’s eye will produce a hotter sauce.

1/2 lb (225 g) red chili peppers such as Fresno, bird’s eye, or red jalapeno, roughly chopped
3 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp (5 mL) sea or kosher salt
1 cup (250 mL) distilled natural white vinegar
2 Tbsp (30 mL) coconut sugar or other sugar of choice

Place peppers, garlic, salt, and vinegar in jar, and let sit overnight.

Place contents of jar, as well as sugar, in saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Be careful not to breathe in the fumes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Place mixture in blender container and blend until very smooth. Strain mixture through sieve to remove any solids. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 months.

from "Red Hot Chili Peppers", alive #365, March 2013