Grilled Sriracha Chicken

Over the past several years I have been using a lot of chili-garlic paste in my cooking adventures. I had heard a lot about sriracha but hadn't seen it in my market, only in restaurants. Finally, a few weeks ago, it appeared on the shelves and I think I let out a little gasp of excitement when I saw that clear squeeze bottle with the rooster on it.

This simple, spicy, vinegary, red condiment has so many uses and really packs a punch. Over the past 2 weeks I have used it while cooking three times, and look forward to discovering many new ways to incorporate it into our meals.

We first used it in a marinade based on this recipe for Oven Baked Sriracha Chicken from the blog So Tasty So Yummy. We have used other spicy ingredients in marinades (chili garlic paste, jalapenos, etc.) but the chicken or beef never really takes on a lot of the heat. Well, that's not the case when you use sriracha in a marinade - this chicken had the best flavor and was full of heat! 

I used the original recipe as inspiration for this marinade -

Ingredients

• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/4 c hoisin sauce
• 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed
• 1 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tsp sesame oil

I marinated the chicken for about 6 hours, and Jon grilled it to perfection so it was nice and juicy inside. This gets a "definitely will make it again" from both of us!