Right now, we’re facing a sriracha shortage that has many fans of the famed hot sauce scouring grocery store shelves and coming up empty-handed. While there are plenty of other hot sauces on the market, there’s nothing quite like hot and tangy sriracha. Thankfully, if you’ve had a hard time finding it lately, you can make a homemade version with just a few ingredients!
The best part? There’s hardly any work involved.
If you have a blender and a little bit of time, you can make a copycat version of sriracha that you might end up preferring even more.
First, let’s dive into why there’s a sriracha shortage. There are several brands out there that manufacture the hot sauce, but the most famous is undoubtedly Huy Fong—they have the recognizable rooster on the bottle.
Huy Fong has seen production issues over the last several months, largely due to a shortage of raw materials. Because of the sriracha shortage, people have started grabbing bottles whenever they can and selling them for a pretty penny online.
But, you don’t have to go that route if you’re willing to spend some time in the kitchen.
You can make your own sriracha at home with just a few simple ingredients:
- 1 pound red jalapeno peppers, stems cut off
- ½ pound red serrano peppers, stems cut off
- ⅓ cup water
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ½ cup distilled white vinegar
Place all ingredients except the white vinegar into a large blender and pulse a few times until you reach your desired consistency. Commercial sriracha is quite smooth and the seeds have been strained out. But, you can leave them in for an even spicier sauce!
Transfer the pureed mixture to a large jar and cover it with plastic wrap. Set it in a cool, dry place for 3-5 days, making sure to scrape down the sides of the jar once a day. This is called the fermentation process, and it will give your hot sauce its tang and flavor.
After at least three days, pour the mixture back into a clean blender, add the vinegar, and pulse until it’s smooth. This is the point where you can strain the seeds through a fine mesh strainer, if desired, into a saucepan. Even if you don’t care about the seeds, straining here is a good way to get rid of any skin or pulp that might impact the final texture of your sauce.
Finally, cook the sauce down for about 5-10 minutes over a rapid boil until it thickens. After it cools, you can store it in individual bottles or a large jar in the refrigerator. Then, you’re ready to use it as a topping for everything from eggs and meats to burritos and pizza!
