Diana Kuan, author of "Red Hot Kitchen," explains her take on all things Asian hot sauce with Manny Howard on "Salon Talks." Kuan set up her most recent book in the most sensible way. The book is about Asian hot sauces so each section leads with the recipe for a sauce-sriracha, Thai red curry paste or Sichuan chili oil, for instance-and then fills in behind with a variety of recipes with the condiment at its core.

Sriracha gets you Sriracha lime chili wings, Shanghai hot sauce noodles and spice miso ramen, among others. Some of the sauces are the kind you can pour out of a bottle, others are pastes.

The one that caught Salon right away was a relatively recent arrival on the hot sauce scene, XO sauce. More of a spoonable, crumbly condiment, XO, named for the cognac associated with outrageous luxury in 1980s Hong Kong restaurants where it originated, is an outlier in Cantonese cuisine, not known for its fiery dishes.

Watch the episode above to learn more about measuring heat in hot sauces and peppers and Kuan's advice for tailoring your DIY hot sauce to your own spice threshold. And for more recipes and culinary tips, visit Salon Food.