Orange Sriracha Glaze and when to tamper a bit

Sometimes I get a recipe and do it as is and its perfect. Other times it needs a tweak or two.  The Orange Sriracha Glaze fell into the latter category.  I used substitutes that the originator suggested as frankly I was too lazy to track down one of those hippy health food stores for "coconut amino's" and coconut oil.  Not that I'm against hippy food, I do plenty, its just buying stuff for a couple of dabs in a glaze just didn't make economic sense.

Once the basic sauce was done, wow...it blew my socks off.  The Sriracha was intense and the orange notes were just not coming through.  It also was just a tidge watery.  Depth of flavor was called for and I amped up that with two additional Asian flavors, oyster sauce and hoison sauce. In that vein I also added 1 T orange zest.  Et voila...it thickened nicely, and more importantly was balanced allowing the Sriracha to still be a player, but not over power the citrus notes of the orange.  Also the original recipe called for toasted sesame seeds...gross I don't trust anything that looks the same going in as it does on exit...the oil packs more flavor with no funny gritty bits.

And...while we are at it, don't get me wrong, I love my Calphalon, but sometimes you need a non-reactive pan like stainless steel. Really love my stainless lined copper for those acidic reductions that need to be untainted with the flavor of aluminum. This sauce needs a long slow simmer to reduce it to the consistency of a glaze and I fear the amount of acid in it would create an off flavor if I didn't use the non-reactive pan.

Orange Sriracha Glaze

• 1 c fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2 T Sriracha sauce
• 4 T honey
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1 T orange zest
• 1 T Oyster sauce
• 1 T Hoison Sauce
• 1 t sesame oil

Strain out the pulp from the orange juice and measure 1 cup.  (About 3 large navel oranges).  Add to non-reactive heavy bottom sauce pan.  Add Sriracha, honey, soy sauce, orange zest, oyster sauce, hoison sauce, and sesame oil.  Over medium low heat stir just softly to combine ingredients and bring to a boil.  Simmer on low heat until reduced to about 1/2 cup liquid, about 30 minutes. Test for seasoning and add a pinch or two of sea salt if needed.  Cool and store covered in a glass jar.

Spicy Orange Sriracha Chicken

• 1 lb chicken 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 T low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 Medium onion cubed
• 1 medium red bell pepper cubed
• 3 T peanuts
• 2 t sesame oil
• 12 oz Udon noodles.
• 1/4 c Orange Sriracha Glaze

Dice chicken into a 1/2" dice.  Chop garlic and toss with chicken.  Sprinkle on the soy sauce.  Cover and marinate at least an hour, up to 4 hours in fridge.
Add Udon noodles to boiling water to warm and separate into strands.  Drain and toss with a sesame oil and set aside. 
Cube bell pepper and onion.  Heat wok with a couple of tablespoons vegetable oil until shimmering.  Add bell pepper and onion.  Stir fry a minute or two.  Add marinated chicken and stir fry until cooked through, tossing often.  Add peanuts ans stir fry one minute.  Reduce heat and add Orange Sriracha glaze.  Toss to coat.  Add Udon noodles and toss to coat and heat through, about 2 minutes.  Serve hot.

Special Thanks for the original glaze recipe to "Robb Graves" who created it and "Rusty Trombone" who passed it along to me.  Good stuff there Maynard.

Harissa Lemon Shrimp

I'm a fan of spicy food. I'm a fan of trying new stuff. This was a home run without trying.

Harissa Mina is a wonderfully spicy Moroccan chili, pepper and spice blend. I've seen it used a lot of times on the Food Network as an ingredient in marinades or as a condiment.  I used it in the former for this recipe.

Harissa Lemon Shrimp

• 2 lbs 16/20 Shrimp, peeled and deviened
• 1/4 c lemon juice
• zest of one lemon
• 1/4 c Harissa
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1 T dried Thyme

Clean shrimp and arrange on skewers.  Lay in in non reactive dish.

Combine lemon juice, zest, Harissa and oilve oil.  Pour over shrimp.  Turn to coat evenly.  Marinate for 30 minutes.

Grill over gas or charcoal grill on medium high heat.  Place shrimp skewers on grill.  Grill 2-3 minutes, turn over and grill additional 2-3 minutes until bright pink and opaque through out.