Restaurant dish you'd love to make at home?

August Moon's hot and sour soup. Very good and different than anything I have had. Kind of smoky/sweet as well as hot/sour.

This recipe can be found here http://www.augustmoonbistro.com/recipe.html

Thanks

I've noticed most of Peng Looi's recipes I've seen posted call for "Hot sauce" to taste.

Any guesses on what kind of hot sauce he'd use, or what would work best? Tabasco? Srirachi?

Seems like some of the hot sauces with their own distinct flavor (Franks, Texas Pete, etc) would alter the overall taste a bit much...

For Asian dishes, it'd be best to avoid sauces like Tabasco or Frank's, or any type labeled "Louisiana", for that matter any type you'd use for "basic" hot wings is not a good idea.
These types of hot sauces have added vinegar in them, and they have not been taken into account for most Asian-inspired recipes. (which is why you see vinegar in the HnS soup recipe.)

Looi's recipe calls for "hot pepper" - you'd probably be safe to dice some chilis and add to taste, to you individual serving (if you add them to bulk soup, it'll only get spicier as the capsicum oils have a chance to "bleed out", and the soup rests - even in the fridge)

I know Looi uses "Sichuan Hot Oil" - made in house at both August Moon and Asiatique - but basically the same type of stuff you'd see used for Sichuan hot pot.
A large amount of dried chilis are slow cooked in a wok for a considerable amount of time... and then chilled, and used for service.
Potent stuff.. pretty much pure capsicum at that point, a little goes a long way... and it provides spiciness, though doesn't lend specific characteristics of using "pepper type-A" or "pepper type-B" which makes it a very multipurpose seasoning element.

They also use Vietnamese chili-garlic sauce (think Sriracha, but thicker, not as smooth... and still has seeds in it) at both restaurants when the dish calls for the desired affect of that type of sauce.



And for the home cook who doesn't need anymore sauces in the fridge... a few shakes of cayenne powder wouldn't be a bad substitute either.

^ That's kinda what I figured, just not all that familiar w/ many outside the Louisiana style...

Thanks Ethan!

[Robin Garr]

^ That's kinda what I figured, just not all that familiar w/ many outside the Louisiana style...

Adding to what Ethan said, if you don't mind adding just a few more little jars to the collection on your refrigerator door, I think you can get the range you need for home cooking with three Asian hot sauces: Sriracha (or equivalent), Chinese chili sauce with garlic, and Indonesian/Southeast Asian sambal oelek, all of which are available at Asian markets, and at least some of are at Lotsa Pasta, Whole Foods, and others.

They seem to me to differ from Louisiana hot sauces in several significant and consistent ways: They're thick, very intense in flavor, don't have a vinegary character and tend to come at you in waves of heat that start at the tip of your tongue and finish up in the back of your throat. Sambal oelek has lots of little pepper seeds in it which give it a cool look and texture, but if that's not important, it's the first one of the three I'd drop from the list since it's otherwise pretty similar to the chili sauce with garlic.

None of this is meant to take away from Ethan's suggestion about using tiny red dried chiles, but it's mighty handy to be able to scoop out a bit of hot sauce and add it to your recipe without much muss or fuss.

Sambal oelek has lots of little pepper seeds in it which give it a cool look and texture, but if that's not important, it's the first one of the three I'd drop from the list since it's otherwise pretty similar to the chili sauce with garlic.

None of this is meant to take away from Ethan's suggestion about using tiny red dried chiles, but it's mighty handy to be able to scoop out a bit of hot sauce and add it to your recipe without much muss or fuss.

I can't believe i forgot to include Sambal!