[Chris Amirault]

After reading Fifi's reference to sriracha in this post to the fried chicken cook-off, I had the thought, "Of course the sriracha was better than Tabasco. Sriracha is always better than Tabasco. And almost everything is always better with sriracha."

I found six pages of hits when I searched on eGullet for "sriracha," but there's no thread devoted exclusively to it. This, it seems, is a travesty.

So, I ask you to share your feelings about the holy hot sauce. What foods must be consumed with it? What surprising pairings have you created? (E.g., grilled cheese sandwiches are immeasurably improved by sriracha. Thank me later.) Ever try to make it yourself? Do you have any loving portraits to share?

Give it up for sriracha, people!

[Jason Perlow]

Must use with Pho and other asian noodle soups.

Must use to mix in with dipping sauces for Summer Rolls, paricularly Nuoc Leo.

I frequently use Sriracha when making marinades. In particular I use it when making Kalbi and Bulgogi marinades, it adds a little bit of extra chili and garlic punch. Its great when added to any soy based marinade, though.

Great when mixed into mayo-based sauces.

Great on Japanese-style hot dogs -- Do a criss cross of kewpie mayo and Sriracha on top of the dog.

[Andrew Fenton]

I like sriracha on pizza. And I agree 100% that it's the must-have go-to seasoning for pho.

Where does it get its name, anyway? Googling shows that Sriracha is a port (and I guess, city) in Thailand: is that it?

[fifi]

Oh wow, Jason! Sriracha and mayo on a hot dog. I am a hot dog heretic. On the rare occasion that I want a hot dog, it is a simple affair. Char the hot dog so that it has lots of black. Eat on a toasted bun with mayo. Next time, I am adding sriracha!

The chicken was excellent. I would add more next time. I am tinkering with a dipping sauce for the drumettes. Any suggestions are welcome. Just adding it to mayo isn't quite it, but very good.

I squirt it on pig skins, or true chiccarones if I can get them. (That is a fusion dish. )

Necessary for scrambled eggs a la hangover.

I used it as a dipping sauce for my pork version of Molly Stevens' "Beef Rendang."

I fear that I have just begun to explore the potential of this flavor wonder. I keep thinking of the seminal comment by my son about my ancho chile paste . . . "Mom, this would make dog turds taste good." Then, when he first tasted sriracha he said . . . "Mom, this is like your ancho paste . . ." Well, you know. (Sorry. )

Great topic, Chris. I can't wait to see what wonders await.

edit to add: I actually made the chicken here.

This post has been edited by fifi: 06 April 2005 - 02:56 PM

[TotallyNutz]

My hubby and I LOVE sriracha on everything! This stuff is way better than Tabasco and I used to be a big Tabasco fan. My favorite guilty pleasure with sriracha is fried spam slices and mac and cheese with a big squirt of the stuff on top of it.

[Al_Dente]

I douse our weekly "go-to" dish with plenty of Sriracha-- a simple tofu stirfry with mushrooms and green peppers (or some other veggie like chard).

[chef koo]

TotallyNutz, on Apr 6 2005, 03:01 PM, said:

My hubby and I LOVE sriracha on everything! This stuff is way better than Tabasco and I used to be a big Tabasco fan. My favorite guilty pleasure with sriracha is fried spam slices and mac and cheese with a big squirt of the stuff on top of it.

i feel the same way. i put in on everything i would normally put hot sauce on like eggs, chicken wings, anything. but then i also found it an awesome substitute for ketchup. anything i would put ketchup on got replaced with sriracha

[SuzySushi]

One of the sushi bars here uses sriracha (and I suspect a little mayo) in their "spicy tuna" base (chopped raw tuna that can be made into various sushi forms). My favorite way of eating it is their "spicy tuna cake," a layer of spicy tuna on top of a layer of rice, molded in a small round, topped with nori shreds, and plated with zig-zags of tobiko-enhanced mayo and sriracha sauce.

[Jason Perlow]

Andrew Fenton, on Apr 6 2005, 05:38 PM, said:

I like sriracha on pizza.  And I agree 100% that it's the must-have go-to seasoning for pho.

Where does it get its name, anyway?  Googling shows that Sriracha is a port (and I guess, city) in Thailand: is that it?

Sriracha is a port in Thailand -- but in actuality the sauce originates from Vietnam.

The sauce most people recognize as Sriracha is Tuong Ot Sriracha from Huy Fong Foods in California -- it has a rooster on it, hence the nickname "rooster sauce".

There are other brands of Sriracha made in other countries, notably Vietnam, but I like Huy Fong the best.

[chefzadi]

SuzySushi, on Apr 6 2005, 03:31 PM, said:

One of the sushi bars here uses sriracha (and I suspect a little mayo) in their "spicy tuna" base (chopped raw tuna that can be made into various sushi forms). My favorite way of eating it is their "spicy tuna cake," a layer of spicy tuna on top of a layer of rice, molded in a small round, topped with nori shreds, and plated with zig-zags of tobiko-enhanced mayo and sriracha sauce.

That's a standard sauce for spicy tuna. Sriracha, mayo and sometimes a touch of hot chili sesame oil.

I like sriracha. It's the only commercially prepared hot sauce, besides harissa that I like. All of the others make me gag.

[RETREVR]

I always called it Cock Sauce.
It makes a very quick cocktail sauce. Just mix with catsup.
It can add background heat to any tomato sauce. It doesn't screw with the acidity like vinegar based hot sauces.
Just a touch in a red pepper coulis to liven it up.
A touch in mayo with the typical grindage for a remulaude.

Another sauce that I used to use as a condiment is El Pato. I would sneek it into chili or other tomato sauces for a little background noise.

[saltylicious]

(50/50) sriracha & ketchup dipping sauce for TATER TOTS

[redfox]

Love it, use it always, call it Magic Rooster Sauce.

[jsolomon]

If I'm making stir fry with chicken, I always marinate the chicken in equal parts sriracha and soy.

It's also perfect in pulled pork.

[daniellewiley]

We love it here too. It's the secret ingredient to my barbecue sauce. Not so secret now.

[Chris Amirault]

saltylicious, on Apr 6 2005, 08:35 PM, said:

(50/50)  sriracha  &  ketchup dipping sauce for TATER TOTS

Ohhh....

Yeah....

That's what I'm talkin' about....

[LindaK]

it's an essential ingredient in any type of glaze I throw together to brush on simple broiled fish or chicken.

a mix of mayo, dijon mustard, sriracha, and lemon juice makes a great topping to dab on crab cakes or to spread lightly on thin bread and top with smoked fish (trout, bluefish, etc.) as an appetizer.

sometimes, just seeing the bottle sitting there in the 'fridge, I squeeze a bit on my finger and lick it off.

[victornet]

I marinate shrimp in soy sauce and oil with a little sriracha before grilling (15-30 minutes in the marinade). Too much of it would burn, but it adds a great kick of heat to the shrimp.

[tetsujustin]

Or if you're a starving college student like me?

Sriracha and white rice.

If I'm lucky I'll put some lunch meat or homemade kimchee or spam on.

Damn you CIA meal plan.

[mrbigjas]

Jason Perlow, on Apr 6 2005, 06:31 PM, said:

The sauce most people recognize as Sriracha is Tuong Ot Sriracha from Huy Fong Foods in California -- it has a rooster on it, hence the nickname "rooster sauce".

There are other brands of Sriracha made in other countries, notably Vietnam, but I like Huy Fong the best.

word. and the other brands? they try to make themselves look like the real thing. i'm sure i'm not the only person who's bought a bottle of the flying goose brand by accident, before i realized that there were several imitators of the real thing....


ok now i'm suddenly unsure...

RETREVR, on Apr 6 2005, 07:17 PM, said:

I always called it Cock Sauce.

aw GEEZ.

[iriee]

really great mixed with saba for a sauce for confit of duck or chicken.
if not familiar with saba its the reduced grape juice that makes balsalmiv vinegar. try it!

[wattacetti]

tetsujustin, on Apr 6 2005, 06:37 PM, said:

Or if you're a starving college student like me?
Sriracha and white rice.
If I'm lucky I'll put some lunch meat or homemade kimchee or spam on.
Damn you CIA meal plan.

This just sounds so wrong. When I was in grad school we'd always look for them plump squirrels on lower campus…

Anyway, I use sriracha mainly for pho or as a dipping sauce. Did toy around with it for a time when experimenting with beef jerky.

[Pan]

tetsujustin, on Apr 6 2005, 08:37 PM, said:

Or if you're a starving college student like me?

Sriracha and white rice.

If I'm lucky I'll put some lunch meat or homemade kimchee or spam on.

Damn you CIA meal plan.

No more trips to high-end restaurants for you?

I like Sriracha, but the hot sauce I keep around in my apartment is another Huy Fong classic, Sambal Oelek (the kind without the shrimp paste). I use it in congee and noodle soup broth - takeout or delivery, though.

[branch]

My mother introduced me to her ex-boyfriend who apparently was the owner of the "original" sriracha sauce company. Jolly fellow he was...

[NulloModo]

I don't like Sriracha. Well, I guess it is OK, but Tabasco is a far superior sauce, and goes with so much more. I think it is the vinegaryness I like about Tabasco, and Sriracha just doesn't have enough of it, it also has a weird sweetness in the back. Also, Sriracha is just too damn mild to be taken seriously as a hot sauce. I mean, I realize that not every sauce needs to peel away layers from your tongue, but sriracha has next to no detectable heat at all.

I wonder what the difference is between Sriracha and the Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce that comes in a little jar. Now that stuff I really like for certain dishes. I like to sautee up some tofu skin noodles (yuba sheet noodles) with some pickled bamboo shoots in chile oil, then dump in like a third of the jar of the chili garlic sauce, scramble in an egg, and finish off with a shot of dark sesame oil. It tastes great, but it doesn't exactly leave the apartment smelling pretty...

[Okbrewer]

I always reach for the Sriracha when I fix scrambled eggs or omelets, and I even use it with roast beef or prime rib instead of horseradish. Of course, it is a must have ingredient with Pho. I have used it and mayonnaise to make a dipping sauce for sauteed scallops.

[annexk8]

Sriracha is my favorite condiment. I always have a current bottle in the fridge and a spare in the cupboard. As soon as the current bottle gets low, I go out and get a new spare. A Sriracha shortage would be a catastrophe.

It goes on almost everything: eggs (scrambled, omelets, fried egg sandwiches, egg salad), macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese, fries, hot dogs, stirfry, pizza, as others have mentioned. It gets stirred into the dipping sauce for spring rolls and vermicelli at the Vietnamese restaurant. Pad Thai. Bloody Marys. Tacos. Baked Beans. This winter, we've been making the lentil soup from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, which is great but immensely improved by a huge squirt of Sriracha. Sometimes I just put Sriracha on crackers and eat them.

I *gasp* hate Tabasco. Sriracha is where it's at.

[MarketStEl]

NulloModo, on Apr 7 2005, 07:12 AM, said:

I don't like Sriracha.  Well, I guess it is OK, but Tabasco is a far superior sauce, and goes with so much more.  I think it is the vinegaryness I like about Tabasco, and Sriracha just doesn't have enough of it, it also has a weird sweetness in the back.  Also, Sriracha is just too damn mild to be taken seriously as a hot sauce.  I mean, I realize that not every sauce needs to peel away layers from your tongue, but sriracha has next to no detectable heat at all.

I'd beg to differ on your "no detectable heat" assessment, though I would agree that Sriracha's heat is toward the mild end of the scale. But I like the way it gives you a little kick at first, then gradually recedes into something a little more complex with a hint of sweetness. Most sweet hot sauces begin with a sugar rush. This one doesn't.

Quote

I wonder what the difference is between Sriracha and the Huy Fong Chili Garlic Sauce that comes in a little jar.  Now that stuff I really like for certain dishes.  I like to sautee up some tofu skin noodles (yuba sheet noodles) with some pickled bamboo shoots in chile oil, then dump in like a third of the jar of the chili garlic sauce, scramble in an egg, and finish off with a shot of dark sesame oil.  It tastes great, but it doesn't exactly leave the apartment smelling pretty...

Guess I'll have to see if VIP (near me) or Wing Phat (on Washington Avenue) have this in stock.

In the meantime, I'm going to have to try making my next Virgin Caesar with Sriracha.

[NulloModo]

Eh, it might be possible that I've lost some heat receptors for good due to a little too much Dave's Insanity and Blair's After Death here and there, but hey, Alton says they grow back, so who knows.

[Jason Perlow]

I have a very high tolerance for heat and I'd defintiely say Sriracha has a kick. No, its not as hot as Tabasco, but as a condiment its a lot more versatile, I think.