There Are Pandas, and Then There Are Pandas.
And this isn't either of them! The Pandas we're talking about here, are watches, not bears. And what got me thinking about them (again) was a link posted this morning by @cm.rook who pointed a few of us to the very attractive (and not terribly priced) Yema "Rallygraph" Panda which, in it's most traditional arrangement, looks like the one on the left, but can also be had in the version on the right: The model on the left is a true Panda, while the model on the right is called a reverse Panda. The reason for that distinction is clear--Panda bears, only come in the first arrangement. Now at this point, everyone should be thinking about the most well-know Panda, The Rolex Panda, which is actually a Daytona, and among Rolex Daytonas, the most famous of which is the Paul Newman Daytona, which was famous first, because it was Paul's, and second because it sold at auction for $17.8 million (US Dollars). The story of that auction is well-known so I'll only...
Nov 8, 2019
Restaurants here have been stocking Cholula, a Mexican-style hot sauce made in California. Tapatio is another California competitor. They're both good and dependable, especially on tacos. I've been stocking Valentina Extra Hot personally. It's made in Guadalajara, from puya chilis (similar to Guajillo), so it has a more complex flavor.
The Caribbean has a lot to offer in this regard but I've only been able to try a couple mass-produced ones, such as Grace. Oddly, their Scotch Bonnet sauce isn't as hot as the regular one, but it does capture the flavor very well! Still very enjoyable on all things with Allspice. I do, however, make a jar of pikliz in the fridge at all times. The brine adds heat and brightness to everything! Sprinkle some on a burger, a salad, whatever...
Asian hot sauce tends to be on the chunky side, very flavorful, and more likely to be prepared fresh. It's not exactly a sauce but my primary condiment is Lao Gan Ma fried chili. I still add Western hot sauce to this to pump it up. There's the Sriracha hype and it's well-deserved. The thickness is very advantageous. I see some hype bubbling around Lao Gan Ma but it's imported and still kind of hard to find, while Sriracha is US-made and almost everywhere here.
My favorite boutique sauce is Blair's Ultra Death. It's thick, has a great flavor (tomato base) that plays well with everything while providing legitimate endorphin-high heat. It comes out one drop at a time, which makes it easy to measure out.
Besides sauces, I've been regularly grinding a custom chili powder. Ground spices lose potency over time so I make relatively small batches. Great for applications where extra moisture isn't wanted. Like dusting it on popcorn or a corn cob. I order a bulk cayenne from Amazon. You can find 90-160k in 1 lbs. bags. You can get ghost and naga easily too. Dried chilis you'd want Guajillo, Pasilla, Anaheim as your base then the rest is up to you. Cascabel for earthiness, arbol for picanté, chipotle for smoke.