“Replicating Asian foods at home might seem a tricky feat. Lucky for you, I’ve done the work of sourcing the best stuff so you don’t have to.”
If you’ve ever watched Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel, you might be a little cautious if you received a box from Andrew with that message in it.
But for the hundreds of Quarterly Co subscribers who received his recent gift box, and who know Andrew’s background as an award winning chef, they tore the box open that instant to see what exciting Asian products he selected to share this quarter.
Verdant Tea, Red Boat Fish Sauce, Pok Pok Som Vinegar, Bluegrass Soy Sauce from Kentucky, and our Season with Spice Thai Red Chili Peppers.
We were thrilled to collaborate with Andrew Zimmern after he selected our Thai Red Chili Peppers as one of his featured products to be used in the Asian sauce recipe that he included in the gift box.
The sauce has a warming aroma and a deliciously savory, sweet, spicy flavor. It takes elements from Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian cuisines to create a modern twist on Asian cooking. Exactly the type of recipe that we are always excited to share on Season with Spice.
Andrew Zimmern shares his thoughts on the recipe, “I put it on fish, poultry, and seared, broiled or grilled meat. I will sauté veggies in it as a finishing glaze. It's really versatile and even makes a great dipping sauce for anything you care to eat. Make it once and you will keep making it for years.”
If you have only been using packaged Asian sauces from the grocery store, this is a wonderful recipe to get started with homemade versions. And a much healthier option.
As Andrew states, it’s a versatile sauce, but the moment I saw the ingredients, dumplings sprang to mind – either as a dipping sauce for fried dumplings, or as I’ve done here, a finishing sauce for boiled shrimp & veggie dumplings.
Andrew Zimmern’s Asian Sauce recipe
(with my adaptations in parentheses)
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken stock (or shiitake mushroom stock*)
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce (preferably reduced sodium soy sauce)
1/2 cup sake
1 dried Thai Red Chili Pepper, whole (broken into half if you like it spicier)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 Season with Spice's star anise pod
A few slices of fresh ginger
1 shallot - chopped
1 garlic clove - crushed
(2 scallions - cut into 2 inch length)
Method:
Andrew’s instructions: “Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot and reduce at a simmer to about a generous 3/4 cup. Strain, cool and use to nap and sauce any food you can think of.”
Notes:
1. Andrew states: “I put it on fish, poultry, and seared, broiled or grilled meat. I will sauté veggies in it as a finishing glaze. It's really versatile and even makes a great dipping sauce for anything you care to eat.” I used it as a finishing sauce for shrimp dumplings, which was lovely! To make it a meal, serve the dumplings in a bowl with rice noodles, and some fresh baby bok choy. Then pour some sauce over it to complete the dish.
2. **The sauce is on the sweet side, which makes a great dipping sauce for fried spring rolls or as a marinade for grilled meats. For other dishes, consider cutting the sweetness down by tasting the sauce first before adding in the sugar, a half teaspoon at a time.
3. Instead of straining out all the ingredients from the sauce, I scoop out the sauce from the pan, so I can include the chopped shallots. They offer some nice sweet bites to the dumplings.
4. *To make Shiitake Mushroom Stock, add 1.5 tsp of our shiitake mushroom powder to 1 cup water
(with my adaptations in parentheses)
Ingredients:
1 cup chicken stock (or shiitake mushroom stock*)
1/2 cup mirin
1/2 cup soy sauce (preferably reduced sodium soy sauce)
1/2 cup sake
1 dried Thai Red Chili Pepper, whole (broken into half if you like it spicier)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 Season with Spice's star anise pod
A few slices of fresh ginger
1 shallot - chopped
1 garlic clove - crushed
(2 scallions - cut into 2 inch length)
Method:
Andrew’s instructions: “Combine all ingredients in a sauce pot and reduce at a simmer to about a generous 3/4 cup. Strain, cool and use to nap and sauce any food you can think of.”
Notes:
1. Andrew states: “I put it on fish, poultry, and seared, broiled or grilled meat. I will sauté veggies in it as a finishing glaze. It's really versatile and even makes a great dipping sauce for anything you care to eat.” I used it as a finishing sauce for shrimp dumplings, which was lovely! To make it a meal, serve the dumplings in a bowl with rice noodles, and some fresh baby bok choy. Then pour some sauce over it to complete the dish.
2. **The sauce is on the sweet side, which makes a great dipping sauce for fried spring rolls or as a marinade for grilled meats. For other dishes, consider cutting the sweetness down by tasting the sauce first before adding in the sugar, a half teaspoon at a time.
3. Instead of straining out all the ingredients from the sauce, I scoop out the sauce from the pan, so I can include the chopped shallots. They offer some nice sweet bites to the dumplings.
4. *To make Shiitake Mushroom Stock, add 1.5 tsp of our shiitake mushroom powder to 1 cup water
