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Sriracha: Hot and Loving It!

  • Marlon Mata
  • December 7, 2010

Here’s to the next big thing in hot sauce! And make no mistake about it; this is a sauce that will leave you crowing for more.

You could see all this hype over this sauce in the internet. Just try looking at Google Images and you’ll see people flaunting all sorts of things in homage to the popular sauce. There’s this woman who made a Halloween costume to resemble that of a Sriracha hot sauce. Then, another guy tattooed the brand on his leg. There are others more, with varying styles of expressing their appreciation for the product.

Even the market is quite the indicator. Every year, more and more people are buying this sauce. And restaurants are following that trend, too. They drizzle it into their dishes, admiring the smoky garlic flavor it imparts to food. It’s also the staple of many fusion cuisines from food trucks. You could see Kogi trucks all over Los Angeles putting a generous helping of the sauce to the dishes they serve. And their customers seem to want even more.

How this happened is beyond me. All I know is that this is a certified Sriracha invasion. But it’s not bad at all, since everyone wants to have a taste of it, too. I just wonder how these people get to love such a sauce, considering that it’s a hot sauce to begin with. Now, what is Sriracha, and why is this becoming so popular now?

To start with, Sriracha is a hot sauce originally made in Thailand. It is named after the Sri Racha, a coastal city of the central part of Thailand. In the beginning, this sauce was produced to accompany seafood dishes typically served there. It is made from selected chilli peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. The traditional Sriracha is often tangier, sweeter, and more viscous than the non-Thai versions.

Huy Fong Sriracha, a popular brand of Sriracha in the US, is a good example of a non-Thai version. This particular brand is the number one hot sauce used by the people all over the country. This is actually the one I am talking about when it comes to the current craze.

Perhaps the best way to explain why people like Sriracha is through its character. They like the lingering sweetness that comes from this sauce. This is due to the natural ripening of the chilli pepper used, not to mention that garlic and sugar is also added to the mix. This is a marked contrast to other hot sauces that have a more vinegar tang on them. There are also others who relish the mellow mildness of this sauce over its stronger competitors. And there are still those who like it because it’s thick enough to be poured on food, much in the same manner as that of ketchup.

Gourmet chefs in restaurants are also finding Sriracha’s value in the kitchen. They can’t deny the power this sauce possesses when it comes to flavoring dishes. Because of it milder flavour, it has become the staple for soups, sandwiches, and steaks served there.

But this does not limit the condiment’s role in the kitchen. Even home chefs can enjoy the vibrancy this sauce offers to their dishes. Drizzle it on salads, nachos, fish, and almost anything that needs some kick, you can be sure that Srirach will make them perfect.

There are a lot of brand of Sriracha in the US now, but only one brand continues to stand out. The Vietnamese-owned family business, known for their Huy Fong Sriracha, takes pride in the product that they have worked hard over the years. They are the first to admit that this is not the real Sriracha. William Tran, the president of the company, is the son of David Tran, the maker of this sauce, said that the sauce was created simply to match the taste of his father.

Whatever the reason, or explanation about this, no one can question the immense popularity of the sauce. Whether it’s for gourmet cooking or simply for a home-cooked meal, Sriracha will certainly lighten up your day. And as long as the Tran family is around to make their hot sauce, there would certainly be many more that would be able to enjoy it.

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