SRIRACHA SAUCE: Fiddling With Fire and Spice

Hey NC kitchen~

I came across ur site when I was looking for some recipe and have been a regular visitor since...I totally love what u have done with indian food/spices and I wanted to share this recipe with u all....

the origin of the recipe is in bangalore where I was a poor college student and the when we were broke we went used to eat the chicken curry made by a guy whose kitchen was his pushcart...I tried to recreate this chicken curry and this is what I came up with...we used to call it "cheap ass chicken" as it cost us Rs 5 for one plate (1$=Rs45..u do the math)

Garlic - a couple of cloves
Curry leaves - 6-7
boneless chopped/diced chicken - 1 cup
Sriracha sauce -  a couple of squirts(http://www.huyfong.com/no_frames/sriracha.htm) u should find it in any asian grocery store
green onions - 1/2 cup
Salt
cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Heat the oil and add the chopped garlic.Next add the curry leaves and fry for a few seconds.Add green onions and fry for a minute.Finally add the chicken and fry for about 5 minutes. Add Sriracha sauce (watch out its really really spicy , so u might want to adjust quantity according to your spice tolerance levels) and salt. Cook till the chicken is done.

Squeeze some lemon juice and serve.

Do try out the recipe, it tastes really good....I would love to hear ur spin on this recipe as well.
~ Aparna

   Who can resist the promise of a cheap n' easy, red-hot-tasty thrill? Not us at the NC, ho ho!

          "So where did she say she was from?" asked Trobee. "Bang....Bang..."

          "Bangalore. It's very South. Hence the use of curry leaves.," said I. "So I figured this one's definitely a Trobee recipe."

          "Definitely."

          "In fact, I'm not even gonna have Trina touch this one," I added. (Although when Trina did glance at the letter and recipe the following day, she nodded in approval: "Ooh. I like how she's giving measurements.")

          "She uses Sriracha sauce," said Trobee. "That's kickass. Are we gonna use it too?"

          "Oh yes," I said. "We are."

           The NC does not generally use special store-bought sauces, pastes or spice blends. We like things mostly DIY over here, while keeping the focus on spice-cooking for people who have places to go, things to do. It's a balance.

          Sriracha sauce, on the other hand, is simply a paste of red chillies, vinegar, and a hint of garlic. It has become nearly as commonplace as soy sauce. It is usually available at any Asian grocer. It is usually available at any supermarket. It has even been sighted at Wal-Mart. (Don't let that ruin it for you.) Our nearby grocery store serves as a sort of lowest common denominator for us when determining an item's availability -- we figure if it's available there, well hell, it's probably available anywhere.

          Our bottle of Sriracha cost us two bucks.

          "Just do it how you want to do it," I told her. "That is the nature of this dish. A quick scramble before heading out the door to [fill in the blank with something specific related to specifically you]."

          "Sweet."

          I knew she'd like that.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

"So... would you put the curry leaves in the pan before or after the onion and garlic?"

We've seen it done both ways.

"Well I always slip em in before," I said. "I think of their cooking time similar to cumin seeds. If they're being added alone, maybe like a 10-second fry before adding the foodstuff. Like with cumin seeds, you have to watch them."

Sometimes curry leaves are cooked like a powdered spice, added with the onions and/or garlic. That's how Aparna does it here.

"Just do it however you like for this recipe," I told her.

*     *     *

"Cooking oil... One tablespoon? Absolutely not!"

I think Trobee takes twisted pleasure in the act (art?) of reducing the oil used for a given recipe. She almost looks disappointed if it already lists a low amount.

Still, I can always count on the fact that it's just enough oil. Skimping too much will bring about flavor devastation. I can't have that. Spices need some fat to blossom, flourish, enhance -- it' a chemical thing.

*     *     *

"Lemon juice? Did she say lemon juice? Sriracha is awesome with lemon juice." The heat and the tang -- Trobee's thang.

*     *     *

"A half cup of green onions she uses? Whoa! For one chicken breast? I thought I was an onion freak!"

"Just use what you want," I said.

She did. Two green onions.

"Yeah...it's the perfect amount of onions in here, I would say," she later murmured.

Trobee takes twisted pleasure in guess-timating ingredient amounts. Because I insist on everything measured exactly for NC recipes, Trobee will sometimes make a guess and then measure -- just to see how accurate she is. It's a game for her. Whatever, you know?

Many times I hear from the stove: "Damn I'm good!"

*     *     *

Later, while happily stirring: "Just wait til I put the Sriracha sauce in this bitch! Do I have to measure it? No? Good."

*     *     *

We agreed: It was great. We could easily imagine how it could be quickly whipped up on the go. Of course, being that Trobee made it this time, my tongue was in flames and my nose was running.

We tried it on Chase, who does not like complex spicing, and is one with chicken. "Hey, I really like that." And he kept going.

Below: Aparna's Cheap Ass Chicken over some leftover egg noodles. Yeah, baby.

Below: Aparna's Cheap Ass Tofu with sprouts and some Tomato-Onion Chutney -- lovingly wrapped in a whole-wheat tortilla.

photos by Trobee

graphic by Mo Digital

---

Aparna's Cheap Ass Chicken or Tofu

1 chicken breast, cubed or 1/3 block of firm tofu (4oz of each)

1 tsp oil

7 curry leaves

2 green onions, minced

½ tsp garlic paste or 1-2 minced garlic cloves

¼ tsp cumin powder (our addition)

½ tsp coriander powder (our addition)

Sriracha sauce, squirt to your desired heat level

few shakes of soy sauce or salt

lemon juice, squirt to your desired tang level

1. Heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the curry leaves and cook until they are darkened.
2. Add the green onions and garlic paste. Add the cumin and coriander. Cook until the garlic is golden-brown. 
3. Add the chicken or tofu cubes and fry until they are almost cooked through. Then squirt in some Sriracha sauce and a few shakes of soy sauce or salt.
4. When the chicken or tofu is cooked through, add a few squirts of lemon juice.