Do you like sriracha sauce?

[Mister_Rik]

@pulykamell

Well, David Tran, the founder of Huy Fong, is Chinese-Vietnamese, and the company started in San Francisco’s Chinatown, so I’d guess it’s more than just marketing.

That would explain it.

[butler1850]

@even_sven

This thread has been bothering me all night, because I can’t articulate why I don’t like the stuff. I really love spicy food, and I particularly love spicy Asian food. This should be a winner for me.

It just lacks-- clarity. The garlic tastes musty and preserved, the heat is faint and overpower by the garlic-sugar funk, and the stuff is so thick it lays limply over dishes rather than becoming a delicious part of them. I prefer a bright, clear, strong flavor from my hot sauce, I guess.

I came in and started thinking of my reply, but it ended up being the same words as above.

This coming from a guy with 7 different bottles of hot sauce on my work desk (4 flavors of Cholula and 3 of Yacateco.) It’s be 8, but I’m currently out of my home made version.

[Rushgeekgirl]

I like sweet Thai chili sauce. It doesn’t have any musty garlic flavor. Just hot and sweet. I put it on noodles, rice, egg rolls, any form of potato, taco salad, hamburgers, regular salad, eggs, and last night I tried it on a hot dog and found it much better than the usual hot dog condiments.

[silenus]

Roger that. I have a couple of bottles of Mae Ploy in the cabinet in my classroom for the days I break out the ramen for lunch. I don’t use it on Mexican food, but it’s great on all sorts of starch and vegetables.

[Drunky_Smurf]

@BigT

The hot sauce I have right now that I kinda like uses cayenne peppers as its main ingredient. It then has vinegar, salt, and garlic. It has a nice flavor to it. If I could get some with more flavor and less spice, I’d go crazy for it.

I’ve never had sriracha. Do you think I’d like it? I am a glutamate fiend and love soy sauce, if the matters.

I think you would like it. It is more flavor than heat but it does have some heat to it. And like people said it does go well with a lot of different things. It’s especially good on bland things like scrambled eggs or french fries.

[Ace309]

From eavesdropping on advice in this thread, I’ve picked up some Yellowbird, the Aardvark habanero, and for the lulz a green sriracha from Musashi. The Yellowbird is my favorite so far (tried them all on eggs!) but they’re all delicious.

Thanks for the recommendations!

[silenus]

Vindicated!!

I do the Dance of Joy. Hot, hot Joy. (I think I dated her once.)

[swampspruce]

Alrighty then, I just ordered the triple tastee pack of Secret Aardvark and Yellowbird from Greenwood supply Co. $100 w. shipping for 7 bottles. I’m looking forward to this!

[swampspruce]

Aaaand it’s arrived! Yellowbird in jalapeno, serrano and habanero! Secret Aardvark drunken jerk, drunken black bean and garlic and habanero!
Tried the YB Habanero on scrambled eggs along with the jalapeno to compare. Both have a nice balance of heat and sweet, and I got a little smoke from the haba sauce. I have the Jala sauce on my ham and cheese sandwich for lunch today.

Thank You Silenus! I am in your debt for introducing me to these!

I’m waiting to do wings before I dive in to the SA sauces.

[silenus]

Those will keep you warm all winter. Glad to be of service. The YB serrano goes great on just about everything. I’ve even started drizzling a line of Secret Aardvark Hab on a hot dog before adding the chili and onions.

[Siam_Sam]

@Siam_Sam

The correct pronunciation is See Racha. The sauce is named for its original location. Spellings differ, but a common one and the one I use is Si Racha. It’s a district of Chonburi province on our Eastern Seaboard. (Chonburi is also the province where the infamous Sin City of Pattaya is located, but Pattaya is in Bang Lamung district.)

The R is silent but is mistakenly transliterated from the Thai because it is present in Thai. The R is also silent in Thai but is present in the writing because this is a word that comes from Sanskrit. You see it a alot in words that come from Sanskrit. It’s the same Sri as in Sri Lanka, but while the Sri Lankans do pronounce the R, and turn the S into SH I believe, the Thais do no such thing. The do not pronounce SR together, ever, and there is no SH sound in Thai regardless of how Thaksin spells his surname (he pronounces Shinawatra as Chinnawat like all other Thais). It is pronounced, trust me, See Racha.

There is a southern province named Nakohn Si Thammarat, often transliterated as Nakhon Sri Thammmarat. It’s the same thing – Sri from Sanskrit and the R is silent.

Just a note to say now that I’m back in the US, I see firsthand how bizarrely this is being mispronounced. In a cafe here in Waikiki recently, and pronouncing it correctly, I asked if they had anything like See Racha (proper “aahhh” sound on the end like the doctor asks you to say) sauce. I was told no, just Tabasco and something that sounded like “seRUTcha” (schwa sound at the beginning and on the end). I said just bring me what they had, and lo and behold but “seRUTcha” was indeed See Racha. The wife is laughing herself silly over this.

[Dr_Paprika]

Sriracha is a tasty sauce, nice mixed with honey (with chicken or pork) or ketchup. I have too many sauces but my favourite is a Mexican sauce mixing habanero with a thin guacamole-avocado. I eat more Tabasco. It’s hard to beat sriracha and hoisin when eating pho.

[Rick_Kitchen]

My reply is “Not particularly.” Frank’s is so much better.

[swampspruce]

Alas, the Aardvarks are dead, and the Yellowbirds are starting to run low. Silenus, you are totally correct on the serrano as it is pretty much my favourite now.

FWIW, I made wings with a generous portion of the SA Drunken Jerk sauce and they were great! Using the habanero as a marinade for my pulled pork was also super yummo! (F-in Rachel Ray earworms…)

[ekedolphin]

I’ve never tried it. Not a fan of hot sauce, or spicy food in general.

[pulykamell]

@swampspruce

Alas, the Aardvarks are dead, and the Yellowbirds are starting to run low. Silenus, you are totally correct on the serrano as it is pretty much my favourite now.

FWIW, I made wings with a generous portion of the SA Drunken Jerk sauce and they were great! Using the habanero as a marinade for my pulled pork was also super yummo! (F-in Rachel Ray earworms…)

Hmm…that reminds me, I do need to re-up my Yellowbird supply. I haven’t tried the serrano yet, the habanero has been so good, it’s become my general go-to hot sauce.

[bump]

@sweepkick

I have the following sauces in my pantry right now. Each has their place but I think Sriracha is fairly low in utility for me.

El Yucateco Green (go-to sauce if i’m cooking Mexican dishes)
Dave’s Insanity Sauce (good in soups and chili)
Cholula (another good go-to sauce)
Louisiana Habanero (eggs n such)
Nando’s Hot Peri Peri (chicken)
Classic Tabasco
Sriracha

I’m similar; I like Sriracha just fine (Huy Fong, typically), but it’s one of several hot sauces/hot sauce type products that I use.

For example, off hand, I know I have and use bottles of the following:

Cholula
Nando’s Peri Peri
Tabasco Jalapeno
Frank’s Red Hot
Sambal Oelek
Some kind of Peruvian-style aji amarillo hot sauce (from Kroger)
Korean gochujang
Huy Fong Sriracha
Lee Kum Kee Sriracha (far less sweet, more savory (it has fish sauce in it))

[bordelond]

@Dr_Paprika

It’s hard to beat sriracha and hoisin when eating pho.

Haven’t done the hoisin in pho, but some sriracha kicks up pho rather nicely.

[Drunky_Smurf]

@bump

Sambal Oelek

I’ve been on a spicy honey mustard, made with sambal oelek, kick the last 6 months or so. Though I’m getting to the point where I’m getting tired of it and want something different.

[bump]

@bordelond

Haven’t done the hoisin in pho, but some sriracha kicks up pho rather nicely.

You should try hoisin and sriracha together; it’s like both and neither at the same time. If I thought my wife would be interested, I suspect the mixture would make a bang-up roast chicken glaze.