In Thailand, sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particularly for seafood and omelets.
In Vietnamese cuisine, particularly in North America, sriracha appears as a condiment for phở and fried noodles, as a topping for spring rolls (chả giò), and in sauces.[2] In Vietnam however, sriracha is not found in many restaurants and private homes, with a distinct chili sauce "tương ớt" being far more ubiquitous.[3]
Sriracha is also eaten in soup, on eggs and burgers. Jams, lollipops, and cocktails have all been made using the sauce,[4] and sriracha-flavored potato chips have been marketed.[5]
Origin
The sauce was first produced in the 1940s by a Thai woman named Thanom Chakkapak in the town of Si Racha (or Sriracha), Thailand.[6][7] The Sriracha sauce itself may be an adaptation of a Cantonese garlic and chili sauce originally from Shunde, China. In the early 1900s, Cantonese immigrants settled in Si Racha, and their garlic and chili sauce was sold in Thailand for decades before the first bottles of Sriraja Panich were produced.[8]
Lakut Suwanprasop, son of La Orr Suwanprasop, and second-generation owner of his family business, holding a bottle of Gold Medal brand Sriracha sauce, with the brand name visible (Thai: ศรีราชา)
Variations
Thailand
Sriracha-mayo sauce
In Thailand, the sauce is most often called sot Siracha (Thai: ซอสศรีราชา) and sometimes nam phrik Siracha (Thai: น้ำพริกศรีราชา). Traditional Thai sriracha sauce tends to be tangier in taste, and runnier in texture than non-Thai versions.[7]
In a Bon Appétit magazine interview, US Asian-foods distributor Eastland Food Corporation asserted that the Thai brand of hot sauce Sriraja Panich, which Eastland distributes, is the original "sriracha sauce" and was created in Si Racha, Thailand, in the 1930s from the recipe of a housewife named Thanom Chakkapak.[7]
United States
In the United States, sriracha is associated with a jalapeño-based sauce produced by Huy Fong Foods[9][10] and is sometimes referred to as "rooster sauce" or "cock sauce"[11] from the image of a rooster on the bottle.[12] Other variations of sriracha have appeared in the U.S. market, including a sriracha that is aged in whiskey barrels.[13][14] The Huy Fong Foods Sriracha was first produced in the early 1980s for dishes served at American phở restaurants.[10]
In 2022, Huy Fong Foods Sriracha sauce temporarily halted production due to a shortage of chili peppers arising from a business dispute with Underwood Ranches, which claims Huy Fong foods misled Underwood Ranches to invest in its expansion, and then breached its oral contract to purchase at their originally agreed upon price point. This caused the price to increase to $30 a bottle or higher.[22][23] The halt in production lasted for over a year,[22][24] but Huy Fong has failed to acquire a consistent supply of peppers at its desired quality point since the dispute.[22]
In popular culture
In 2013, American filmmaker Griffin Hammond released Sriracha, a documentary about the origin and production of sriracha sauce.[25]
Rapper Tech N9ne released the song "Sriracha" in 2016, in which he compares his style of rhyme to the condiment.
In 2017, the Korean trio Bang Chan, Changbin and Han debuted in the group 3Racha, taking inspiration from the sauce. Now they are part of the k-pop group Stray Kids.
Action caper chase film Stuber (2019) ends at a Sriracha factory.[26]
A bottle of sriracha sauce makes a cameo in episode 5 of 2021 American television miniseries Hawkeye.[27] The scene in which it is used was apparently improvised by actress Florence Pugh.[28]
^Shyong, Frank (April 12, 2013). "Sriracha hot sauce purveyor turns up the heat". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved June 29, 2013. Roland Foods in New York makes its own variety, Sriracha Chili Sauce, in a similarly shaped yellow-capped bottle featuring two dragons instead of a rooster. Frito-Lay is testing a sriracha-flavored potato chip, and Subway is experimenting with a creamy sriracha sauce for sandwiches.
^ abcNguyen, Andrea (March 4, 2013). "The Original Sriracha". Bon Appétit. Retrieved June 29, 2015. The Thais also make many versions of [sriracha] sauce... which tend to be more liquid and pourable than Huy Fong's. Sriraja Panich has a lovely balance of bright chili heat, delicate sweetness, vinegary tang, and garlicky backnote.
^Usborne, Simon (November 20, 2013). "Sriracha hot sauce: Heated dispute". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved June 29, 2015. But like most obsessives, Erskine is fiercely loyal to 'rooster sauce' as some know the brand (in the US it is sometimes also called 'cock sauce').
