Last Thursday, I attended the Tabasco Taste Setters workshop at the Magsaysay Center for Hospitality and Culinary Arts Inc. in Mandaluyong where we learned more about the Tabasco brand.
Chef Gary Evans, the International Corporate Chef of TABASCO, shared the food trends of 2019. Most of the workshop attendees were people from the food industry (manufacturing, restaurant, hotel, catering, etc…).
I didn’t know much about Tabasco before this. I’m certain I have tried it before. All I knew was that it was a brand of hot sauce, and because I didn’t have that much exposure to hot sauces, I thought most hot sauces were the same. But boy, was I wrong!
During the workshop, I was able to try the different variants of Tabasco.
TABASCO IS STILL A FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS (SINCE 1868!)
I was shocked to find out that the Tabasco business actually only has about 200+ employees worldwide. It is a famous hot sauce brand that I have heard of since I was a child. In my mind, I had always pictured it to be some big, conglomerate type company. Tabasco is distributed in 196 countries – according to them, it is the most widely distributed brand in the world. So imagine our surprise when they told us that McIlhenny Co. is a family business run out of Avery Island in Louisiana.
We also learned that Tabasco sauces literally take years to make! That’s a big difference with other hot sauces that can be produced in just a few days. To make Tabasco sauces, peppers are picked by hand, and then ground into a mash on the day of harvest and placed along with salt in white oak barrels (aging barrels previously used for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey). They are then aged for three years! After that, the mixture is strained, vinegar is added, and the sauce is finally bottled.
TABASCO VARIANTS
Now that I knew this, I was able to pay more attention to the nuances of the Tabasco sauces. They did have a smoother, more complex flavor compared to other hot sauces that were just plain hot.
I got to try these variants:
- Classic
- Garlic – I thought this was slightly sweeter compared to the others
- Green – Mild Jalapeno, fruity, tangier
- Chipotle – Smoked – reminded me of Beef Chili
- Habanero– hottest!
- Sriracha – newest one; it’s the one in the bigger bottle
The ones that I liked the best were the Garlic and the Green Tabasco sauces. The only problem we had was trying to get the sauces out of the bottles 🙂
Chef Gary Evans and Miss Sandy Cu, Product & Business Dev’t Director, SYSU International, Inc., also compared the Tabasco Sriracha sauce to the well-known Sriracha sauce in the market today.
Check out the difference:
The Tabasco Sriracha (right) is runnier, smoother and has a more refined flavor. The other Sriracha brand (left) is coarser and has a fruitier, but harsher, flavor.
The Tabasco Sriracha also has no preservatives, food coloring or dyes, and doesn’t use high fructose corn syrup.
COOKING DEMO USING TABASCO SAUCES
Chef Eugene Raymundo demonstrated cooking 4 dishes using Tabasco sauces. I’ll be sharing the recipes below.
- Crispy Pork Ear Fries with Guava-Sriracha Glaze – who would’ve thought that pork ears can be used for more than sisig? This was really crispy.
- Green Goddess Smoothie – I wouldn’t mind drinking this healthy smoothie daily 🙂
- Smokey Bangus and Shrimp Risoni – crowd favorite!
- Brownie Habanero-Crumble with Raspberry Cheese Mousse – the traditional Aztec combo works!
All the participants were able to try the dishes. Contrary to what you might expect, the dishes were not spicy at all! The Tabasco sauces were used just to heighten the flavors of the dish, without making it too spicy.
I used the Tabasco sauces during our lunch, just 1-2 drops, and using it this way really does enhance the flavors of the food without making it too spicy.
The four dishes were all delicious, but the favorite among those I asked was the Smokey Bangus and Shrimp Risoni (pasta dish). It was also my favorite dish.
COOKING CONTEST!
After the cooking demos were done, the workshop participants were divided into teams because it was our turn to cook using Tabasco 😀
We could use any of the products & produce here:
We had one hour to finish everything:
Our Judges:
I was fortunate to be part of the winning team! I was teammates with Rele from Pop’s Original Lumpianiza, Aldrin from Annabel’s, Deo from Kenny Rogers, Franz from Dizon Farms, and Katja from Goldilocks.
Our winning entry, Fish Fillet in Mango Sriracha Sauce:
Thank you to everyone involved in making this workshop so much fun!
RECIPES
Finally, as promised, here are the recipes:
Crispy Pork Ear Fries with Guava-Sriracha Glaze
Ingredients:
1 kl pork ears, cleaned
1 pc star anise
1 ½ tbsp rock salt
1 tbsp peppercorns
2 pcs laurel leaves
Guava Sriracha Glaze
1 bottle Clara Olē Guava Jelly
8 oz white wine
1 oz Clara Olē Hickory Marinade
3 oz Sriracha Sauce
2 tbsp McCormick minced garlic
1 pc laurel leaf
1 oz Lee Kum Kee Oyster Sauce
Breading
¼ c rice flour
½ c all-purpose flour
¼ c cornstarch
¼ tsp paprika
1/8 tsp ground pepper
¼ tsp salt
2 egg whites
½ tsp Pepper Sauce
Procedure:
• Place pork ears in a casserole and cover with water. Bring to a boil and drain, discard water.
• Put back in a casserole and cover with fresh water. Add in star anise, salt, peppercorns and laurel. Cover and bring to a boil. Simmer for 50 minutes or until fork tender, drain and let it cool or chill before slicing thinly.
• To make the glaze, place all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes or until thick. Strain and set aside until ready for use.
• Sift together all remaining dry ingredients. Set aside.
• Slightly beat eggwhites with Tabasco Pepper Sauce. Toss in a handful of pork ear strips until well coated. Dredge in breading mixture and deep fry in hot oil until golden and crisp.
• Drizzle some glaze on the freshly fried pork ear fries and toss well. Serve immediately.
Serves 8-12
Green Goddess Smoothie
Ingredients:
12 oz unsweetened soya, almond, oat or rice milk
2 oz honey or 2 tbsp sugar
10 gms oatmeal
120 gms frozen diced apples
100 gms frozen diced cucumber
30 gms frozen kale leaves
½ tsp Jalapeño Pepper sauce
Procedure:
• Place all ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
• Serve immediately
Serves 2
Smokey Bangus and Shrimp Risoni
Ingredients:
500 gms San Remo Risoni
50 gms malunggay leaves, washed
1 oz La Española Extra Virgin Olive Oil
60 gms minced garlic
100 gms minced onions
300 gms shelled jumbo shrimps, deveined and sliced lengthwise
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 oz white wine
80 gms flaked smoked bangus
90 gms Clara Olē Red pesto
1 pk Clara Olē Carbonara Sauce
½ cup pasta water
1 ½ Tbsp Chipotle Pepper Sauce
40 gms parmesan cheese
Procedure:
• Bring enough water to cook the pasta into a boil. Add in pasta and stir.
• In a saucepan, saute garlic and onions in olive oil. Add in shrimps and season with salt and pepper. Pour in wine. Cook just until it turns pink. Add in smoked bangus and cook for a minute over medium heat.
• Stir in red pesto, carbonara sauce and pasta water. Stir to combine.
• Add malunggay leaves into boiling pasta on the last minute of cooking and stir well. Drain and toss directly into simmering sauce.
• Blend in Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce and cheese. Serve immediately.
Serves 6
Brownie Habanero-Crumble with Raspberry Cheese Mousse
Ingredients:
90 gms alkalized cocoa powder
170 gms white sugar
100 gms brown sugar
96 gms all-purpose flour
3 eggs
170 gms butter
2 oz corn syrup
¼ tsp instant coffee
150 gms Tulip Dark Chocolate Compound
1 Tbsp Habanero Pepper Sauce
Crumble:
96 gms all-purpose flour
45 gms oatmeal
50 gms brown sugar
1/8 tsp McCormick ground cinnamon
75 gms butter
1 Tbsp Habanero Pepper Sauce
Raspberry Cheese Mousse:
200 gms cream cheese, softened
25 gms sugar
4 oz Smucker’s Red Raspberry Preserves
1 tsp Pepper Sauce
red food color (optional)
1 tsp unflavored gelatin, dissolved in 2 tbsp water
8 oz whipping cream
Procedure:
• Pre-heat oven to 350F.
• Place first 4 dry ingredients in a mixer and mix using a paddle attachment on low speed.
• In a saucepan, cook butter, corn syrup and coffee over low heat until melted. Add in chocolate compound and Tabasco Habanero Pepper Sauce until smooth.
• Slowly pour into flour mixture until well blended. Add in eggs one at time and beat until smooth.
• Scoop into preferred silicone molds or 8”x8” greased baking pan. Sprinkle top with Habanero-crumble*. Bake for 16 minutes. Let cool before slicing.
• Serve with a scoop of Raspberry mousse and more Habanero-crumble.
• To make the crumble, place all dry ingredients in a food processor until fine. Blend in butter and Tabasco Habanero pepper Sauce. Place in a lined cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
• To make the mousse, cream the cheese sugar, raspberry preserve and Tabasco Pepper sauce using a paddle attachment until smooth. Blend in dissolved gelatin. Fold in whipped cream. Chill until ready for use.
Makes 12 4.5” brownie discs
