Honey Sriracha Sauce

Honey Sriracha Sauce is a super versatile condiment that can be used as a dip, glaze, marinade or spread. This sweet, spicy, and sticky sauce pairs brilliantly with baked, deep-fried, or air-fried chicken (be it wings, thighs, drumsticks, or tenders).

For a quick weeknight dinner, you can also use it as a marinade to grill, pan-fry, or bake salmon.

Honey Sriracha Sauce

Sriracha (commonly pronounced see-ra-chuh) is a popular Asian hot sauce that is said to have originated in Thailand and is now one of the world's best-selling hot sauces.

As the name “Honey Sriracha Sauce” suggests, sriracha is an essential component of this recipe. This sauce comes together quickly, and it keeps well in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Ingredient Notes

Here are some helpful notes on the ingredients you need to make this honey sriracha sauce.

Sriracha

I use the Huy Fong Sriracha, the squeeze bottle with a rooster on the label, but you can use any brand you prefer. The taste and spiciness vary from brand to brand and will therefore yield slightly different-tasting honey sriracha sauces.

Sriracha is considered a medium-hot sauce (it's usually less spicy than Tobasco), but you may also find some mild varieties. A mild sriracha though may make the honey sriracha sauce sweeter - something to bear in mind.

Sriracha can be easily found in supermarkets. Check the aisle that has sauces and condiments. It's also sometimes found in the international aisle of grocery stores. Asian stores almost always carry it.

If you can’t find Sriracha near you, you can make it at home, look for it online, or substitute it with any of your favorite hot sauces or pastes. I’ve also tried this recipe with Sambal Oelek (an Indonesian chili paste/sauce) and it turned out great.

Honey

Use regular, unflavored honey for this recipe. Honey cuts through the spiciness and creates a nice balance of sweetness and heat in the sauce.

Ketchup

The tomato-ey goodness makes this sauce even more complex and exquisite.

Olive Oil

I prefer olive oil, but you can pick any cooking oil of your choice that is neutral-smelling and won't overpower the sauce.

Garlic

Use freshly grated garlic. You can also use a garlic press or chop/mince the garlic cloves into fine bits. Garlic paste (bottled/jarred pureed garlic sold in Indian stores) will work too.

On a side note, if you frequently use fresh garlic, you may find this post very useful. I tested several different ways of peeling garlic to find the easiest method.

Ginger

Use freshly grated ginger or chop it up into fine bits to get minced ginger. Ginger paste (jarred pureed ginger sold in Indian stores) will work too.

Vinegar

Use distilled white vinegar or an equal amount of apple cider vinegar (also known as cider vinegar).

Crushed Red Pepper (Red Pepper Flakes)

Use more or less of the crushed red pepper flakes, depending on your spice preference.

Salt

I use table salt in my cooking, but you can use kosher salt, Himalayan pink salt, sea salt, or whatever variety of salt you prefer.

Lime or Lemon Juice

Both work great and can be used interchangeably.

Lime or Lemon Zest

Like the juice, the zest of lime and lemon can be used interchangeably in this recipe. If you don't have a zester, grater, or microplane, you can still prepare some zest using a knife.

Making zest using a knife: Carefully peel the very top layer of the lime or lemon with a paring knife or a small knife. Slice off the thinnest layer possible, avoiding the white layer right underneath, which can be bitter. Then, chop the peel into tiny bits and use it as needed.

Additional Ingredients for Honey Sriracha Aioli

Mayonnaise

You can use kewpie mayo like I do or use regular mayo. Like traditional mayo, kewpie mayo is also made with eggs, but just the yolks. It has a rich, umami flavor that regular mayo sometimes lacks.

I have not tried this recipe with vegan mayo, but with some difference in the overall taste, that should be a decent substitute too.

Yellow Mustard

The small amount of yellow mustard we add to honey sriracha mayo brightens up the overall flavor and adds some tartness that balances the creaminess of the mayo oh so well.

Instructions (Step-by-Step Photos)

Follow these simple, photo-assisted instructions to prepare this honey sriracha sauce. Don't forget to check out the recipe card down below for the printable version of this recipe with detailed instructions and all the important tips and notes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Tips for Recipe Success

• Use fresh ginger, garlic, and lime/lemon juice for the best-tasting sauce.
• Although some sauce recipes call for a cornstarch slurry as a thickening agent, you will be better off skipping that method. If you want to thicken your sauce more, just reduce it by simmering for a couple more minutes. Don’t cook too long though, or the sauce may turn way too thick upon cooling down.
• Taste as you go. If you are worried that the sauce might be too hot for your liking, start with half the quantity of sriracha. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the saucepan. Do a quick taste test before turning the heat off. If you’d like the sauce spicier, add more sriracha as per your liking.

Scaling the Recipe

Scaling up a recipe is not always an exact science. Spicy ingredients can sometimes increase the heat of a dish disproportionately. And that can be the case with the taste and smell of some aromatics too. For example, 2x (double the quantity) of a spicy ingredient might be 3x (3 times) spicier.

When scaling up, increase the quantity of the spicy ingredients (for example sriracha and crushed red pepper flakes) by half for each additional portion. This will prevent the spice from overpowering the dish.

Prepping Ahead and Storage

The sauce can be prepared up to a week ahead of use and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Allow the sauce to come to room temperature before refrigerating. Store in an airtight container or a squeeze bottle.

Variations

• Swap out sriracha for sambal oelek.
• Use Japanese mayo (Kewpie mayo) instead of regular mayo (mayonnaise) for a richer, more umami taste.

Serving Ideas

Both versions of this honey sriracha sauce pair well as a dipping sauce for fries, potato wedges, chips, vegetable sticks, and pretty much anything else that could use a flavor boost. They are both also delicious as a spread on sandwiches or burgers.

Serving ideas for the honey sriracha sauce only (not the mayo version):

• Use the sauce as a marinade or a glaze when baking, grilling, or frying chicken.
• Try it as a dip for fried calamari, spring rolls, chicken nuggets, and shrimp or prawn tempura.
• Use it as a glaze on fried wings to get sticky hot honey chicken wings.
• Make honey sriracha butter by combining ½ teaspoon of honey sriracha sauce with 1 tablespoon of room-temperature butter.
• Drizzle the sauce on pizza, roasted vegetables, or frittatas to pack a punch of flavor.
• You can also use it for making glazed hot honey veggies.
• Use it to marinate salmon and other fish fillets for a quick dinner. Keep some sauce aside to coat the cooked fish.