Sriracha

Sriracha (/siːˈrɑːtʃə/ see-RATCH-ə or /sɪˈrɑːtʃə/ sirr-AH-chə; Thai: ศรีราชา, pronounced [sǐːrāːtɕʰāː] ) is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, pickled garlic, sugar, and salt.
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. In Vietnam however, sriracha is not found in many restaurants and private homes, with a distinct chili sauce "tương ớt" being far more ubiquitous.
Sriracha is also eaten in soup, on eggs and burgers. Jams, lollipops, and cocktails have all been made using the sauce, and sriracha-flavored potato chips have been marketed.
Sriracha chili sauce was officially born in 1932, the same year that marked the Siamese Revolution, transitioning the country into a constitutional monarchy. That year, La-Orr Suwanprasop, a native of Sriracha who had settled in Bangkok, began producing and selling her own chili sauce. Her product won a gold medal in a product competition during the Constitution Celebration. She attempted to register the brand under the name “Sriracha Chili Sauce” after her hometown, but the authorities denied her request, as it was the name of a district. Ultimately, she had to use the brand name “Gold Medals” instead. However, Gold Medals chili sauce remained a small-scale household industry with limited production capacity, which prevented it from gaining widespread recognition. Even today, The Gold Medals is still available on the market, retaining its original label design since 1932.
The internationally renowned Sriracha chili sauce is the “Sriracha Panich” brand, which was first sold in 1935. This recipe was created by Thanom Chakkapak, a native of Sriracha, who established a chili sauce factory in Si Racha, Chonburi Province. Her sauce became a well-known local product. Later, in 1984, Thai Theparos Company acquired the business and its recipe, expanding distribution both domestically and internationally. The brand remains widely recognized around the world.
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 Gold Medals and Sriraja Panich were produced.
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.
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.
In the United States, sriracha is associated with a jalapeño-based sauce produced by Huy Fong Foods and is sometimes referred to as "rooster sauce" or "cock sauce" from the image of a rooster on the bottle. Other variations of sriracha have appeared in the U.S. market, including a sriracha that is aged in whiskey barrels. The Huy Fong Foods Sriracha was first produced in the early 1980s for dishes served at American phở restaurants.
Various restaurants in the US, including Wendy's, Applebee's, P.F. Chang's, Jack in the Box, McDonald's, Subway, Taco Bell, White Castle, Gordon Biersch, Chick-fil-A, Firehouse Subs, Noodles & Company, Starbucks, and Burger King have incorporated sriracha into their dishes, sometimes mixing it with mayonnaise or into dipping sauces. The word "sriracha" is considered a generic term.
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. The halt in production lasted for over a year, but Huy Fong has failed to acquire a consistent supply of peppers at its desired quality point since the dispute.