Some American brands have become so popular that the brand defines the product and not the other way around. For example, a paper tissue is commonly referred to as a kleenex (no need to capitalize the K) and to make a photocopy of something, we say we'll "xerox it." Has Sriracha hot chile sauce become synonymous with Asian hot sauces? There are competing Asian hot sauces but are we at a point where Sriracha is THE one? Perhaps with Vietnamese food, as you can't avoid the squirt bottles at Vietnamese restaurants. But where else?
A few weeks ago, American culinary historian John T. Edge and I had an email exchange about Sriracha for his piece, "A Chile Sauce to Crow About", in today's New York Times Dining Section. He relates the history behind Huy Fong (Rooster brand) chile sauce company, recounts how founder David Tran and his family came to the United States from Vietnam, and traces the birth of Sriracha chile sauce to its current popularity today.
Along the way, John T. notes the myriad ways in which Sriracha has gone beyond the Vietnamese kitchen and been incorporated into other cuisines, even that of celebrity chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who counts Tuong Ot Sriracha as a stealth ingredient. (In Vietnamese "tuong" means fermented sauce and "ot" means chile.) What's unexpected cool is a listing of unexpected uses of Sriracha in 20 states in the U.S. It's no longer just an urban thing or even an ethnic-enclave thing. It's not just a Viet sauce, though Huy Fong founder David Tran originally developed the sauce for the Asian market, primarily Vietnamese pho restaurants. The Sriracha Facebook fan page has over 130,000 fans!
Update: Sunday, May 24, 2009: An editorial in the New York Times by Eduardo Porter misinterprets Edge's piece, causing the poor man to suffer dissillusionment. For the record, Sriracha is a sauce originally made in a seaside town called Sriracha. "Sriracha" is a brand of hot sauce developed by Chinese-Vietnamese-American David Tran in Rosemead, California. It's highly likely that Tran was inspired by the original. So Sriracha was not originally invented in Rosemead (that's in Los Angeles County, not Los Angeles!).
This all brings me back to the question from yesterday: Is Asian in? And, how should/could we measure it? Can Sriracha surpass Tabasco in America?
Also, if you have interesting/inventive uses for Sriracha, let the rest of us know.
Related information:
My 10 year old daughter and her friend squirt it on their mac 'n cheese.
Posted by: Vongriffing@mac.com | May 20, 2009 at 04:39 PM
Geeze, don't they get heart burn? I learned to sprinkle tons of black pepper on my mac 'n cheeze from a junior high school friend and that nifty 'trick' still stays with me. Your daughter is destined to be a great eater, and I mean that in the most complimentary way.
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | May 20, 2009 at 09:36 PM
Sriracha is all I need on my hotdogs. My 13 year old likes it on scrambled eggs with rice.
Posted by: Christine | May 21, 2009 at 09:39 AM
I use Sriracha to make a poor man's bloody mary. Delicious. Of course it's essential for Vietnamese food too.
Posted by: Shavedicesundays | May 21, 2009 at 11:41 AM
I wonder if some people, not being familiar with Vietnamese food, think it's just the name of that type of sauce instead of the brand name? I've seen that happen the other way as well - people confusing the word for a certain ingredient for the brand name.
Posted by: Chana | May 21, 2009 at 05:03 PM
i think it's pretty crazy how popular it is. i swear it's everywhere! i was surprised to see it at school alongside the ketchup and mustard, but maybe that's bc it's in LA
Posted by: sophia | May 21, 2009 at 05:56 PM
oh, and my brothers and cousins squirt it on everything. it's not good if there's no Sriracha on it. sandwiches, omelets, veggies, rice, pizza, hamburgers, pasta, everything
Posted by: sophia | May 21, 2009 at 05:59 PM
Sophia, in LA, there's Sriracha at the school cafeteria? No way!
Cookbook author and Thai food expert Nancie McDermott was telling me that her favorite Sriracha is Shark brand, which I've seen but have never tried:
http://importfood.com/sriracha_sauce.html
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | May 21, 2009 at 06:52 PM
I think for many Americans it's like ketchup - it;'s something we have to have around as an all-purpose condiment. Until I read this article I always thought it was an actual Asian sauce - turns out it's one of those fabulous American mash-ups. Not really the original thing, but oh so much better in it's new incarnation. I mean, I love a good Sicilian "pizza margarita" and all, but who can deny the pull of a Chicago deep dish? Same for Sirracha - it's our own, and it is awesome!
Posted by: Diane | May 21, 2009 at 06:58 PM
Andrea,
Yes, my daughter is destined to be a foodie. In my family, we always joke that if we are not eating food, we are shopping for it, thinking about it, cooking it, or reading about it :) BTW, I really enjoyed your article in the May's issue of Saveur.
Posted by: von | May 21, 2009 at 09:31 PM
Just curious, Andrea, you weren't the one telling John T. Edge that the name was supposed to be pronounced sir-rotch-cha, were you? I hope not, because I like your book and blog a lot.
Posted by: Kate | May 24, 2009 at 05:36 AM
Huy Fong brand all the way. The other brands aren't as good.
Posted by: thuy | May 28, 2009 at 12:10 AM
And, lost in all of this is the fact that Si Racha is a town in Thailand, although you hint at in in your reply to Sophie. So it's not even Vietnamese in origin, it's Thai.
You can find my blog, "So You Want To Be A Waiter", which covers culinary issues as well as restaurant server issues at:
http://teleburst.wordpress.com/
Posted by: dave | June 06, 2009 at 09:12 AM
Or Sophia even...
Posted by: dave | June 06, 2009 at 09:13 AM
It always confused me that the inventor of the sauce called it sriracha in the first place. Someone call him up and ask him. For one thing, the word is Thai and the second thing is that the texture is not like the original. Why not just call it Huy Fong's Chili Sauce? And yes, sriracha is generic term.
Posted by: Guess | June 06, 2009 at 06:22 PM
Well, I suppose it wouldn't sell so well if the sauce was called "Huy Fong's Chili Sauce." Not sexy . . .
Posted by: Andrea Nguyen | June 09, 2009 at 10:51 AM
Until a couple of years ago, I thought the "Sriracha" brand was called "Rooster Sauce" since that's all I ever heard anyone call it.
As ubiquitous as it is in San Francisco, one nearby Safeway supermarket didn't carry it. The local Latino grocer did, nestled in amongst the dozens of Central and South American hot sauces.
A little squirt in an omelette or scrambled eggs. Divine.
Posted by: Lauren | July 01, 2009 at 04:12 PM
make a nice jewish matzo bri...put the sour cream on top...drizzle shriracha. omg yum!
Posted by: carmella | November 08, 2009 at 04:02 PM
I grew up eating Sri Racha! The original one in Thailand has slightly different taste and to me it's even better. I have no idea why they call this Asian hot sauce "Sri Racha"... If I had to guess, it's because in the district of Sri Racha, in the eastern part of Thailand, not far from Bangkok, the main thing people over do is growing this type of chiilli to feel the sauce factory. So they name it after the town. And when the Asian style hot sauce was first marketed in the US, why they still call it Sri Racha, I have no idea.
Posted by: Rave | August 18, 2010 at 07:37 PM