Guava is one of my favorite fruit flavors to implement with savory spices. Its balance of sweet, tangy yet earthy flovours makes it hugely versatile and able to stand up to proteins like lamb and salmon.
That being said, this wasnt always the way I felt about guava.
I grew up cringing at the sight of my mother gobbling gelatinous beet red guava paste with cubes of cream cheese as she and my family did around the holidays, and sometimes for dessert.
But surely like most puertorican kids, my fondness for guava grew. Confectioners sugar lured me to fluffy flaky guava turnovers and pan de bono led me to my latest find: guava sriracha sauce.
I was shocked to discover this rogue accoutrement accompany the famously familiar and ever so comforting cheese filled pan de bono as I sat down for dinner at Philadelphia's Chifa.
Stephen Starr's long standing eatery Alma de Cuba serves pan de bono with a mojo sauce heavy on mint and cilantro, but the new Latino on the block, Chifa serves this with a bold blend: guava preserves and the uber hot yet full flavored aged chili paste known by spicy food lovers as sriracha.
To my surprise the subtle flavor of the pan de bono was not at all overpowered by the punchy marmalade. In fact, the spice of the sriracha accentuated the creaminess of the cheese that fills the bread. The sweetness of the guava and highlighted an otherwise overlooked buttery flavor in the dough, leaving me wanting more.
Determined to have just that, I attempted to recreate the guava-goodness this weekend. I used this to garnish my shrimp empanadas...but ended up looking for excuses and foods to dip into it (even used it to flavor the base to a stir-fry!).
What may be the best part of this all is the fact that the sauce is comprised of only two ingredients which can be combined to suit the palate and heat tolerance of each enjoying it. My ratio is just under 1:1, guava beating sriracha.
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