Spice Up Your Life: Cooking Spicy Food with Tacoma Boys
If you’re looking to cook more spicy food, there are so many ways to get started! Different spices and foods bring the heat to meals and snacks in several mouthwatering ways. Various cuisines are even known for spicy food and experimenting with those flavors. Spicy carnitas, kung pao chicken, and arrabiata sauce are a couple examples of some of the spicy food that is enjoyed all over the world. And there’s no wrong way to season your own food with the amount and type of heat that you prefer!
Enjoying Spicy Food
Tacoma Boys’ wide selection of ingredients makes it that much easier to cook and eat spicy food. From dried and ground spices, to hot sauces, chili paste, and more, there are so many ways to experiment with different ingredients to make spicy food! Dried spices like cayenne and red pepper flakes are a couple common ways to make your meals hotter. You can season your dishes from start to finish and incorporate the spice into your dish in multiple ways.
Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce is another common ingredient to make your food a bit spicy. And some other well-known finishing hot sauces at Tacoma Boys include Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, Cholula Hot Sauce, Tapatio Hot Sauce, and much more!
How to Use Spices and Seasoning at Tacoma Boys
If you’re not sure how to use spices, it can sometimes seem like too many to choose from. But instead of feeling overwhelmed, try to experiment with different flavors and foods! Like any food or seasoning, spicy ingredients and dried spices bring a variety of different flavors alongside the heat. You can choose to add these while cooking your food or add them to your finished meal. To season food with spice while avoiding overpowering the food, it’s sometimes recommended to layer the spices: That means throwing some of your spicy ingredients in the pot while the food is cooking as well as when garnishing the meal.
Tacoma Boys’ bulk selection of spices means you can use a bit of everything to help spice up your life. Try our Jalapeno Powder, Crushed Red Pepper Flakes, and Red Cayenne Pepper for different flavors in different meals. And if you’re still not sure how to use spices individually, go for blends like Cajun Spice or Creole Seasoning at the base of your dish. Then, work up from there!
In addition to an array of Tacoma Boys’ own dry spices and seasonings, you can find a variety of other spicy condiments to cook or garnish with, like these:
- Tia Lupita Hot Sauce
- Secret Aardvark Habanero Hot Sauce
- Blazing Inferno Habanero Pepper Fire Sauce
- Siete Hot Sauce
- Splat Fermented Hot Sauce (local)
- Callahan’s Ghost Pepper Sauce (local)
- Hot Babe Caribbean Hot Sauce (local)
Some people like spicy food more than others because they are simply used to eating it! If you want to get accustomed to the heat of spicy foods, start adding a small amount of one of these hot sauces on your food. Then you can gradually add a bit more and learn to love the taste without it being overpowering.
Spicy Recipes
Many of the best spicy recipes use at least two different ingredients to bring the heat! You can make just about any dish into a spicy recipe by adding or substituting what you already have to work with. In soups or stews, try adding red pepper flakes, fresh jalapeno peppers, or habanero sauce when simmering or serving. Embellish meat dishes or roasted vegetables with ready-to-serve salsas or spreads. And you can even swap classic tomato sauce for Mezzetta Calabrian Chili Marinara in a spaghetti dish! These are just a couple examples of how to make spicy recipes from grocery store staples.
Or, try this satisfyingly spicy version of cheesy nachos to serve a crowd:
Loaded Spicy Nachos
Ingredients
- Tacoma Boys Tortilla Chips
- Tillamook Spicy Mexican Blend Cheese
- Tacoma Boys Pepper Patch Salsa
- Smith Brothers Farms Sour Cream
- Diced red bell pepper
- Chopped green onion
- Diced avocado
- Chopped cilantro
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Spread the tortilla chips in an even layer on the baking sheet and top with cheese. Bake for about 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and top with salsa, sour cream, bell pepper, onion, avocado, and cilantro!
If you’re looking for a last-minute lunch or dinner, Tacoma Boys has a variety of spicy meals and snacks ready to go, too. Next time you’re craving spicy food, try Mike’s Mighty Good Spicy Pork Tonkotsu Ramen, Field Roast Buffalo Wings, or Amy’s Organic Spicy Chili.
Or, stop by our butcher counter to see what prepared meats are available, from smoky peppered bratwurst to jalapeno pepper jack burgers and more!
Come on by Tacoma Boys to take advantage of our wide selection of hot sauces and bulk spices to try. If you’re looking to try new spicy foods or experiment with different flavors, we have everything you need. And when you do go grocery shopping, don’t forget to consider our 5 tips for sustainability shopping! To stay up to date on insider deals and specials, sign up for Tacoma Boys’ text list. Just text (253) 246-1661 to tell Paul you want to be on the list!
