FOR THE uninitiated, Sriacha sauce is a fermented hot chilli sauce which has its origins in the city of Si Racha in eastern Thailand.

It is believed to have been invented in the 1930s by Thanom Chakkapak, who began making it for friends and family. It proved so popular she began to produce it commercially!

Nearly 100 years later and it’s a worldwide billion pound industry.

Flavour-wise, it has a sweet and sour garlic taste. It is a popular dipping sauce and also a fantastic addition to soups, stews and stir fries, mixed with mayo as a burger relish, or even as a cocktail ingredient.

This increasingly popular condiment is made by several large producers and available inexpensively in all the large supermarkets. So why bother making your own?

What prompted me was my fiancée’s shopping basket which included lots of products new to our household as she is taking part in ‘Veganuary’, which encourages people to abstain from eating any animal products and eat/drink a plant-based diet for a month.

Whether you think turning vegan for a month is a noble pursuit, a fad, you’re indifferent or frothing at the mouth in rage, it’s an undeniable fact that vegan and free-from diets are rapidly on the increase.

A lot of vegan products and alternatives contain thickening agents and stabilisers as well as complicated substitutes for dairy and meat. The ingredients lists can be long and unfamiliar, and sometimes unwholesome.

I’m all for responsible eating and taking notice of what impact our food has on our environment however, and I believe a DIY approach to cooking is great whether you’re trying a vegan diet or not.

It reduces packaging, uses less additives, saves you money, and is a brilliant way to broaden your understanding of the food we eat and how it’s made.

So I thought I’d have a go at making a Vegan Sriracha mayonnaise from scratch. The Sriracha takes five days to make and the vegan mayo just a few minutes.

Of course, you can make a traditional mayonnaise or buy some to mix your Sriracha in. It makes an excellent dip for chips, a salad dressing, or use it to spice up your burger whether it’s bean or beef!

For the mayo you’ll need a small stick blender or whisk. You will also need some disposable latex gloves (chili rubbed into the eye or on any body part is not advised), a food processor, a pan and a glass bottle or jar with a lid.