2016 June | Sybaritica

For years, I used Huy Fong™ Brand Sambal Oelek, as my ‘go to’ ingredient whenever I wanted to add a touch of chili heat to a dish without the inconvenience of the fresh article. Of late, however, I have been using the ‘Sriracha Sauce’, also made by Huy Fong Foods Inc., in place of the rather chunky paste.

Anybody who has spent much time eating in Asian restaurants of the more casual, less up-market, variety, will no doubt recognize the bottle appearing on the right of the above picture. Indeed, the Rooster logo  is so ubiquitous nowadays, being widely available in supermarkets as well as restaurants of all sorts, that it is often called ‘Rooster Brand Sauce’,  ‘Rooster Sauce’, or, somewhat less salubriously, ‘Cock Sauce’.

Sriracha, it turns out, is named after ‘Si Racha’, a town in Thailand that is known for its own particular style of chili sauce. In the mid 1970’s, a Vietnamese gentleman by the name of David Tran founded the Huy Fong company and began marketing a ‘Sriracha Sauce’ along with a few other condiments. Unfortunately, perhaps, Mr. Tran never did trademark the name ‘Sriracha’, and thus allowed several other big companies, notably Golden Mountain, Frank’s, and now Lee Kum Kee  to get in on the action. Accordingly, this means that my blog-post introduction to the condiment can include a taste comparison of two of the main brands available… Read more