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Asian Glazed Chicken Drumsticks
I would like to try making this recipe. But I don't like anything super spicy. What could I use instead of the sriracha hot sauce and get a similar flavor with out the extra heat?
Ingredients
8 medium chicken drumsticks
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Sriracha hot sauce
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon fresh, grated ginger
the ingredient is only (mostly) for flavoring, just reduce the quantity; the recipe will still work and be less spicy.
If not wanting to be spicy at all, you could use a regular red bell pepper paste (blend/puree some red bell pepper with a little bit of olive oil (or no oil)), or maybe use a tablespoon of tomato paste.
Sriracha is primarily red chili pepper, it is used for heat. You could replace it with a something like this Ortega Mild Taco Sauce.
If it were me, I would reduce the amount of sriracha using only a 1/2 teaspoon or so. You would get a little heat without it being overwhelming.
I'm going to assume that you wouldn't want to buy a bottle of sriracha if it's something that you find too spicy ... and it's impossible to find something that's truly 'similar' in taste without it being hot.
So instead, I'd consider basing the sauce off of "Sweet Chili Sauce" that you can often find in the Asian section of American grocery stores. (sold by a few different companies -- Mae Ploy and Lee Kum Kee are typically available near me)
Although it also has garlic in it, it's not quite as strong as Sriracha. In other recipes you might want to add a little to compensate, but the recipe already has three cloves in it, so you likely won't miss it.
You'll also need to reduce your sweeteners (it's sweet chili sauce, after all). I'd try making it without the honey, as the chili sauce is likely going to add the sweetness of about 1 to 2 tsp of honey. (if needed, you can always add a bit after tasting).
