Who doesn't love the burn? In this episode, we're talking all about hot sauces, spicy condiments, and chili sauces. A listened asked us to explain hot sauces, particularly Sriracha (which we love!). So we've blown that idea out to include lots of hot sauces including peri peri sauce (or piri piri sauce) and even a fermented chili sauce from the Middle East that has become a staple in our kitchen.

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've written three dozen cookbooks under our own names, plus lots more for celebs. (We've even fixed a few celebrity books before they went to publication.) We've also developed over 10,000 original recipes in our career.

Thank you for choosing our food and cooking podcast. Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:53] Our one-minute cooking tip: Find the hot spots on your grill. Get to know your grill.

[03:51] We had a listened (hello, Debbie!) request a segment on hot sauces, chili sauces, and spicy condiments. So here we go! We're talking about Sriracha (and the changes to it for the North American market), chili crisp, salsa macha, harissa, and even a fermented chili sauce we've come to love.

[23:58] What’s making us happy in food this week: tinned fish and goat birria.

What's authentic? How do you label that authenticity, particularly when it comes to recipes from cultures other than your own?

These questions have become increasingly pressing in the twenty-five years we've been writing cookbooks. How can we identify a recipe popular in Thailand without referring to the ethnicity of the recipe? Especially when we two writers don't live in Thailand or have any connection to Southeast Asian culture?

We're Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough, authors of three dozen cookbooks with one more now in production for 2025! This is our podcast about our passion: food and cooking.

We've also got a one-minute cooking tip about grilling. And we'll tell you what's making us happy in food this week.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:45] Our one-minute cooking tip: Don't flip meat too often on a grill.

[03:00] The on-going and very difficult questions about ethnicity and authenticity in recipes. Also, how the matter has changed in our twenty-five years of writing cookbooks.

[24:16] What’s making us happy in food this week: potato chip chocolate chip cookies and white currant jelly.

It's grilling time in our part of the world. And we've got a great, easy recipe, particularly if you can find cross-cut beef short ribs (sometimes called "flanken"). We get ours at a big-box store. We stock up every time we're there because we want this great barbecue meal a lot all summer long.

We're veteran cookbook authors Bruce Weinstein & Mark Scarbrough. We've published three dozen cookbooks with eight New York publishers. Our most current is THE LOOK AND COOK AIR-FRYER BIBLE, which you can find here.

This podcast lets us indulge some of our passions: food and cooking. (Bruce is off on knitting adventures on his own; Mark has a podcast solely focused on walking slowly through Dante's DIVINE COMEDY.)

We're glad you're with us. Thanks for being a part of our journey.

Here are the segments for this episode of COOKING WITH BRUCE & MARK:

[00:56] Our one-minute cooking tip: Clean your grill AFTER every use.

[02:32] We're making grilled, cross-cut, beef short ribs!

Here's how:

Put all of this in a turbo blender or a food processor to make a marinade:

1 medium yellow onion, peeled and cut into 1-inch or 2 1/2-cm chunks;

1 medium Asian pear (about 6 ounces or 170 grams);

5 peeled, medium garlic cloves;

one 1-inch or 2 1/2-cm piece of peeled fresh ginger, cut into smaller chunks;

1 cup or 250 milliliters soy sauce;

1/2 cup or 125 milliliters water;

1/4 cup or 55 grams packed light brown sugar;

2 tablespoons or 30 milliliters mirin;

and 1 tablespoon or 4 grams freshly ground black pepper.

Blend until a smooth puree, then pour into a very large, zip-seal plastic bag. Add about 3 pounds or 1.4 kilograms of cross-cut beef short ribs. Massage the puree into the meat, seal, and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

Grill over direct high heat 3 - 4 minutes per side. Cut them into chunks with at least one oval bone in each. Serve with cooked white or brown rice and lots of kimchi.

Garnish with minced scallions and sesame seeds.

[13:52] What’s making us happy in food this week: affirmation from others on our TikTok channel and homemade kimchi!