Please Peas Me - Sriracha’s Sultry Sister | The Food Party! | Laura Stec | Palo Alto Online |

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By Laura Stec

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About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...  (More)

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Please Peas Me - Sriracha’s Sultry Sister

Uploaded: Jan 29, 2016

If you are into the many uses for Thailand’s Sriracha like we are, here’s a new one for you: Korean Gochujang Chili Sauce. I got a hold of a bottle after we Food Partied! about these red-siren super sauces in Sriracha + Ketchup + Hoison.

Gochujang (Korean for hot pepper paste) is spicy and umami-rich, but less sweet and more complex than her sister from another mister, Sriracha. I’d describe her as more mysterious, more alluring with depth, more …well...like me. :)

Go ahead, squeeze this little strumpet over everything. Last week, I matched her up with my pea soup. Developed the recipe for a Redwood City company making National Schools Lunch Program soups from USDA commodities and local produce. This noble effort should still succeed, but at least for now, the recipes did.

Here’s a perfect one for the rainy and snowy days ahead.

Kick-and-a-Split Pea Soup Serves 6

1 tablespoon oil
2 cups onion
1 ½ cup celery, chopped
1 ½ cup carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 2/3 pounds (approx.) ham hock
1 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs parsley
1 pound (1 bag) green split peas, rinsed
6 cups water
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Pinch freshly ground white and black pepper
Garnish with Gochujang chili sauce

Wash peas and rinse; set aside. Add oil to heavy large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion - garlic and sauté until they begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add pork – parsley; stir 1 minute. Add peas and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover pot; simmer soup until pork is tender and peas are falling apart (about 1 ¼ hours) stirring every so often. In the last 15 minutes add dry mustard, salt, pepper and vinegar. Continue cooking, letting flavors blend. Adjust seasonings. Remove ham hock, shred meat off the bone, return to pot and stir. Ladle into soup bowls with drizzled Gochujang. Try writing the initials of the person eating the soup on top.

Perfect for Valentines Day.....



Find Gochujang in the Asian foods aisle.


Local Flavor
SOS Seafood Festival: Sustaining Our Seas
Saturday, January 30th 10 AM – 5 PM
Seafood for Thought Chefs Pavilion Hosts Cooking Demos & World-Class Panel
Princeton-By-The-Sea (Half Moon Bay)
https://www.sosseafest.org/

Look Who’s Cooking! Class with Chef Edward Lee
Saturday, February 20th 2 PM
Macy’s Union Square
O'Farrell, 170 O'Farrell St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Top Chef Edward Lee will be in the Cellar Kitchen cooking up dishes with Gochujang

Yolks - here you go:

Community.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Reluctant, a resident of Menlo Park,
on Jan 30, 2016 at 9:40 am

What is preparation time?


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley,
on Jan 30, 2016 at 9:43 am

Reluctant - don't be. Prep time is fast - depending on your knife skills - 15 min max I'd say. All you have to do really is dice carrot and onion. You can buy those prepped already if you choose.


Posted by The Yolks on Me!, a resident of Menlo Park: other,
on Jan 30, 2016 at 10:29 pm

You outdid yourself with this one, Laura. Any suggestions as to where we can pick up a bottle or tub locally? I'm reading gochujang reviews on Amazon and my eyes are glazing over, and not in a pleasant sweet & spicy way.


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: Westridge,
on Jan 31, 2016 at 7:47 am

Yolks, I'll post a picture of the brand I have when I get up off my cozy bed this morning. I've been seeing it, or another brand in all the specialty whole food, nob hill kinda stores. I don't think Safeway yet. Go to where you'd find Sriracha and look at what else is there.


Posted by Laura Stec, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Jan 31, 2016 at 2:51 pm

Laura Stec is a registered user.

Yolks - that photo is up


Posted by really?, a resident of Menlo Park: other,
on Jan 31, 2016 at 4:56 pm

Went to Suruki in San Mateo today and couldn't see it, so asked the 18 yr old on the checkout if they had it. We walked down the aisle, and he spotted a short jar all in Japanese. I tasted it and it's much more miso-based than I think your version is. It's the sort of stuff you butter the inside of a tortilla with when making the infamous Korean/Mexican burrito south-of-market. Yum


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: other,
on Jan 31, 2016 at 8:35 pm

Really? Wow - what brand? Send a picture. Let's Food Party!


Posted by JPO, a resident of Menlo Park: Downtown,
on Feb 2, 2016 at 1:32 pm

There is a huge Korean market in Sunnyvale -- the HanKook Supermarket on El Camino just a little north of the Lawrence Expressway. Mostly Korean, but lots of variety and just about any type of Asian food staples you could want. Lots of pre-made kimchee and marinated meat for Korean BBQ. Make a weekend trip for a food and cultural experience.
hankooksupermarket.com
Next door is a huge Korean restaurant that has grills on the center of each table so you can cook your own bulgogi.


Posted by Hot Stuff, a resident of North Whisman,
on Feb 2, 2016 at 3:45 pm

You open with "Thailand's Sriracha", but I thought it came from Irwindale?Perhaps the recipe was inspired by Thai cuisine?

I also read an article last year about how the inventor of Sriracha decided not to trademark the name, allowing the name to be used by fast food restaurants and numerous other food products.


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: other,
on Feb 2, 2016 at 8:04 pm

Hot Stuff, yes the owner did not trademark the name. The sauce appears to have Thai origins, interesting for a guy from Vietnam. I googled "what is the languages on the bottle," but found no answers. Can anyone read it?


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: other,
on Feb 2, 2016 at 8:07 pm

And Food Party! at HanKook Supermarket JPO. Thanks for the tip. Time for a field trip Food Partiers!


Posted by Laura Stec, a resident of Portola Valley: other,
on Feb 2, 2016 at 8:17 pm

Ok - last comment tonight. Have you gone to the sriracha website? I never have till now. Web Link Hilarious. Then there is this: "After the United States accepted Tran (owner maker Sriracha) as a refugee when no other countries would, he started right away doing what he did best -- making hot sauce."


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