Peanut Sesame Noodles + Homemade Sriracha

Lately, I've been wanting to eat take-out Chinese food from those paper cartons.  I want to shovel food in my mouth using chopsticks, like they do in the movies when something bad happens.  I'm not saying I want something bad to happen, I just want to enjoy a lot of Chinese take-out, in my mouth, while watching Pretty Woman.  Is that okay with you?

Problem is, there is not great take-out Chinese in the Santa Monica area (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).  So I had to make my own version of Asian-style take-out, even if I was paper carton-less.  I followed this recipe for Peanut Sesame Noodles, and they were delicious!  The sauce was everything I wanted it to be - smooth, spicy, nutty with a hint of sweet.  But what made it excellent was the Homemade Sriracha I stirred it all together with.  A good friend, Marianne, makes her own and hands them out as gifts and I'm telling you, the store-bought version does not come close. She shared her recipe with us below... yay!

Homemade Sriracha

(Makes 1 jar)

Printable Recipe

Adapted from Gwyneth Paltrow's My Father's Daughter

1 1/4 cups peeled garlic

1 pound red jalapeños, steamed and sliced into thin rings (seeds removed - the more seeds: the hotter the sauce)

2 1/4 cups rice vinegar

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

2 T sea salt

1 T arrowroot

1 T fish sauce (or soy sauce)

In a small sauce pan, add garlic and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and immediately drain.  Cool the garlic under running water and return it to saucepan.  Cover again with water and repeat blanching process. 

Thinly slice the blanched garlic and combine with jalapeños and vinegar in a large pot.  Bring to a boil, cook for 3 minutes and then remove from heat.  Add the brown rice syrup and salt and stir to combine.  Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 1 hour to steep and cool. 

Whiz the mixture in a powerful blender until smooth.  Return the pureed sauce to the pot, bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, skimming off any foam until the sauce is slightly reduced and has some body.      

In a small bowl, dissolve the arrowroot with 1 tablespoon of lukewarm water.  Whisk into the simmering sauce and cool for 2 minutes more or until sauce has thickened.  

Remove the sauce from heat, let it cool slightly and stir in the fish sauce.  Store in a screw top jar in the fridge for up to 6 months. 

I chose to toss my Peanut Noodles with diced red bell pepper, cucumber, green onions, cilantro and chopped peanuts.