Sriracha Chili Sauce Condiment or Crack?!
I've recently started using Sriracha and fear that I may be addicted. The smell makes my mouth water and I crave it while I'm eating it trying to think what my next snack or meal may be so I can have more! When I have consumed half a bottle I run out and get more for fear that I will run out and have seriously considered keeping a bottle in my purse just in case some place I might be eating may not have it.....I think I have a problem.
Right now I'm using it on pizza, mixed in ketchup for fries and rings and on my eggs. Anyone else share my addiction?? If so how do you get your fix?
bubbles4me
Sep 04, 2007 05:37PM
It's hard to find something that isn't made better by the addition of Sriracha.
A cracker, cream cheese, and chili sauce.
Srirarcha instead of salsa with chips
Diced firm tofu tossed in sriracha
Breakfast burrito (scrambled eggs and cheese) with sriracha
Frozen chicken puck sandwich with sriracha
This season they tried to make sriracha ice cream on Top Chef - they said it was unsuccessful, but I'd like to try it. Off to the kitchen...
Back after the only mildly unsuccessful addition of sriracha to Chubby Hubby. I don't think I'll do it again (the garlic notes were not great with the ice cream) but the heat was a good addition. Fun experiment.
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Ooh, but Chubby Hubby might be the only food that's as delicious as sriracha! I'm surprised the combo didn't spontaneously combust out of sheer awesomeness!
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You can still get Chubby Hubby? Where, please?!? That was always my favorite Ben n' jerry's flavor, but I thought it was discontinued.
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Here is their flavor locator...
http://www.benandjerrys.com/our_produ...
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"Srirarcha instead of salsa with chips"
That one made my stomach turn. You must live in a place with really crappy salsas to prefer a bottled Sriracha!
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When you think about it, Srirarcha with chips isn't that different than chips with salt and vinegar.
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Maybe but Sriracha has a very rough flavor that benefits from a little bit of cooking. I agree that Sriracha could be good on Potato Chips or Fries... but when you think of Corn Chips its really alot more about very fresh (non bottled) flavors etc.,
BTW... this topic inspired me to blend a little bit Yoshida's teriyaki sauce with Sriracha, Tamari & Vanilla extract... mixed & nuked it for 30 seconds then used it as a dipping sauce for microwaved Rocky (organic) chicken tenders... and French greens with Miso Dressing... it was quite delicious for a 5 minute lunch.
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MMMM huy fong needs to make some sriracha flavoured tater crisps! i would be big as a house.
that recipe sounds delicious eat nopal. i am writing it down for later. it might be good cooked down a bit in a saucepan, as well or used to marinate steaks. yum.
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Eat Nopal, vanilla extract? Is that a flavor combo that is traditional, fusion, or your creation? Doesn't make too flowery? Good in other hot/savory combos? Please 'splain this intriguing concept further!
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Vanilla was used in savory pre-hispanic dishes.... for example the traditional Shrimp in Vanilla Sauce dish from Northern Veracruz.
I just bought a bottle of great Vanilla from Veracruz (extremely floral compared to French, Tahitian etc.,) and so I have been experimenting with it... and trying to find other recipes / ideas.
Unfortunately I can't find a whole lot written about it (maybe Dianne Kennedy has something) but if you google "Camarones Xanath" you will find restaurants & recipes for that Shrimp in Vanilla Sauce.
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I had a treat at Asiatique in Louisville--a tiny dish of coconut ice with sriracha. Heavenly!!
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What could be better than garlic and chilies? We add it to stir fries and sauces. Season ground meat for burritos/tacos/etc. Mix with mayo for a spicy sandwich spread. Squirt it onto a hot dog and add cheddar. Also makes an attractive and tasty red swirl as a plate garnish.
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On grilled grouper, in black beans and rice, in coleslaw. Even tried it in mashed potatoes for a twist on wasabi mashed, awfully good with pork. It is crack, but better.
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Ohhhh potatoes, I used to love Tabasco on baked potatoes with sour cream....but Sriracha would be even better...guess what I'm having for dinner tonight!
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One of My favorite uses of Srirarcha is a white fish sandwich on an everything bagel dipping each bite into some Srirarcha. So good! I too put on noodles-pizza-meats-fish-sandwiches.. pretty much everything...
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I share your addiction. Here's a post of mine from a while back when I was posting on the old board under the name DB.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/301976
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As a fellow LA chow I read your posts all the time and find myself nodding my head as I do so it is not shocking that you posted the same thing a year ago! Tons of great tips from that thread...thanks so much.
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Ha! That's great! I loved that thread because people posted some of the coolest ideas for sriracha. I forgot to mention that I've actually gone so far at points to keep bottles in my purse, glove box and desk at work. Currently, the addiction is in check but we'll see what happens after this thread...
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One sandwich place in San Diego has Sriracha in packets (like ketchup). I alwasy grb a few extra, but can't figure out where the supplier is from (it isn't Smart 'n Final)
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I absolutely love Sriracha!!! yes put it on a lot a things but I'm not as bad as my brother. he puts it on absolutely everything!!!! he even brings a small bottle when he goes to a restaurant!! haha! ever tried to mix it with Ranch and put it on salad?! yum!
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I used to be a Sriracha addict and now my drug of choice is Aunt May's Bajan Pepper Sauce. That beautiful hot, tasty elixir goes on everything. Right now, I'm eating with yellow split-pea dahl, rice and lamb chops. it is grazing everything -- hmm, can't seem to stop myself...
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Crack. Definitely. The next step: how many different brands of sriracha are there in your fridge?
I like to make a dip of sriracha and sour cream -- I put some out at a party and everyone raved and wanted to know what it was, and you can't get much easier than squirting sriracha into a bowl of sour cream.
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what proportion of each did you use?
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Good question. I just squirt the sriracha into the sour cream until I get what I want. I'm guessing about a tablespoon of sriracha to a cup of sour cream. It really depends on what kind of dip you're looking for, though -- whether you're looking for a dip that's basically flavored sour cream, or whether you want something that you're going to use more sparingly like a condiment, in which case you could use a lot more sriracha.
BTW, I know that the "rooster" sriracha is the one that is most available and is generally considered the best, but for dip I really like another brand I bought that is darker, hotter and a little bit more vinegary (the vinegar is higher up the list of ingredients: Chile, vinegar, garlic, sugar, salt vs. chile, sugar, garlic, salt, vinegar) . It has a symbol on the label that looks like a cross between a Santa Claus head and a tulip.
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the "rooster" sauce is huy fong, which is actually an american company. it sounds like the one you prefer is thai, not american - the thai ones are better, imo...tangier from the higher proportion of vinegar. do you still have the bottle? i'd love to know the brand.
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The bottle I have now is "Grand Mountain" brand. Says "Product of Thailand" on the label. The last one was a different brand; it had a picture of a flying goose on the label. They were pretty different in flavor. The Grand Mountain is definitely more vinegary.
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It doesn't have anything on it that looks like a brand name. It says "Tuong ot ngot sriracha" across the top of the logo, and "Sriracha chili sauce" under the logo. The only other identifying info is that it says "Union International Food Co, Hayward, CA" on the side, but it doesn't say whether that's the producer, bottler, importer, distributor, or whatever, nor does it specify the country of origin.
Okay, I google Union International Food and eventually found their website(s) -- looks like the brand is "Uncle Chen" and it's made by UIF in the US:
http://www.chiliciouslyhot.com/index.swf
http://www.ufunionfood.com/en/profile...
For you sriracha freaks, it looks like you can buy it by the bucket!
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thanks for going to all that trouble to find & post the links...unfortunately the ridiculous head shots of young girls in bikinis on that first one made me close the window without bothering to enter the site to look for the product. somehow i can't bring myself to research or buy products from a web site when the opening page makes me think i somehow accidentally clicked my way to "girls gone wild." :)
i'll keep an eye out for uncle chen's when i go shopping, and hopefully unlike other american brands it'll be vinegary enough for me.
and the quest continues...
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I'm addicted too. I use it in many ways already mentioned. One different way that I don't think has been mentioned is to make popcorn and then pour a little white sugar on a plate. Sprinkle daps of sriacha all over the sugar. While the popcorn is still warm dip a couple kernels at a time in both the sriracha and sugar. MMMM.
I even like to just eat the sriracha by itself...
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Wow, this reminds me of a dive bar we used to hang out in when I was in college- they always had bowls of popcorn and bottles of condiments on the bar, and we would always grab a bowl and a bottle of sriracha and go to town. I had forgotten about that until this very moment... thanks!
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Simple lentil soup no longer tastes complete to me without a good squirt of sriracha or spoonful of huy fong chili garlic sauce. Perfectly perks up the mellow-rich lentils.
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That chili garlic sauce is another one of my favorites, I love to mix it with mayo and serve it with artichokes....yumm
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try it with sushi instead of soy sauce. yum.
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I thought I was the only one!!!
Of course, in addition to sushi (and everything else), I found that it worked particularly well on Stoned Wheat Thins.
In fact, I spent about a year when I first discovered the sauce putting it on those crackers for DINNER many nights when I would get home from work late. This concoction would be washed down with scotch and soda. Maybe not a healthy dinner, but an awfully tasty one! Thank goodness for this stuff. Sauce from the heavens, I tell you.
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i love sirracha mixed with mayo for my sushi. I always thought they should sell it and then I found it on the shelf of my grocery store... haven't tried it since making myself is easy.
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By the way, the "spicy sauce" (e.g. spicy tuna roll, spicy salmon roll) that were served in most fusion rolls is usually just sriracha sauce with mayo (plus may be a little sugar to balance the vinegary srirarcha sauce).
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Gosh, I never even thought about that! Interesting.
Sriracha really is the wonder food.
I got into an argument once years ago with someone who insisted it was only a condiment. I felt that sold it way, way short.
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i started making my own, more complex version of that "dynamite" sauce at home once a sushi chef clued me in...but i use lowfat sour cream instead of mayo. i started with a few ingredients, and it just evolved from there. so it's not really dynamite sauce anymore, but it tastes delicious!
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lobster hand roll on soy paper with a squirt of sriracha sounds so good or a thick layer on Korean shortribs with rice and kimchee.
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On the sushi note, I know hot sake is the low grade crap, but a touch of Sriracha gives it a nice kick.
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I mix it with fish sauce and lime juice and use it as dressing for spicy "fruit" salad: usually with papaya (green not too ripe) or mango, jicama. You can also drizzle sweet soy sauce (kecup manis (sp?)) to add some sweetness. It is great for summer! It makes me sweat sometimes!
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My quick-and-dirty BBQ sauce:
Catsup
Moderate amount of Dark Molasses
Good-sized amount of Sriracha
Garlic powder
Worcestershire sauce (real Lea & Perrins, please, not French's)
Sugar to taste
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I used to really like sriracha, put it in oatmeal, clam chowder, eggs, tuna salad, rice, McD's Filet-o-Fish, onion rings, etc.
But then one day someone "spiked" a bloody mary of mine with sriracha and then my addiction went the way of the Edsel ...
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Sorry, I think it makes a fine bloody mary.
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I only just recently got my first bottle, but I can see how addiction is possible. Thus far it has found its way into scrambled egs, meat marinades, mixed with teriyaki sauce and tossed with wings, and for lunch over the weekend I added just enough to a bowl of Tom Yum to make my eyes water. Perfection!
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Can't beleive I forgot this earlier. Sriracha and strawberry jam as a sweet/hot dip for pretzels or basically anything else you want to dip. Soooooo good.
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Discovered tonight it makes a great addition to mashed potatoes.
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My list of items I use Sriacha sauce on is too long. Lets just say it is good on everything.
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I have just switched to a different brand sriracha sauce. I was using the Huy Fong(rooster) sriracha sauce for years, but recently after a visit to a Thai grocery store purchased some Shark Brand Sriracha sauce made in Thailand instead of the USA. Subtle diferences make it my new sriracha of choice, although I still kepp a bottle of Huy Fong around.
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Since I first tasted it while eating Pho, I add it to almost every soup. I also love it on chicken. Also good on burgers.
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Sriracha loves peanut butter. A PBS on toasted whole wheat.
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Wow, I thought I was the only one who loved Sriracha and Peanut Butter sandwiches! A lot of people look at me in disgust when I do this, but the flavour of the chilies, garlic and subtle sweetness of the Sriracha go so well with PB. I have also been known to make a PB and Korean gochujang (not exactly sure of the spelling) sandwich. Another great combination if you are careful with the gochujang.
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my dad always eats peanut butter with Sambal! and my hubby etas PB with sweet chilli sauce
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I grew up watching my dad eat scrambled eggs with hot sauce and wheat (or rye) toast with melty peanut butter. He'd take a bite of the saucy eggs, then a bite of toast. The first time I tried it, I knew my dad was on to something... and then I tried it with sriracha. The student surpassed the master. Also good with Huy Fong's plain chili garlic paste, which is hotter and not as sweet.
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OH MAAAN..i am pregnant and tomorrow morning I am having PB and Sriracha on toast. i love it too!!
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I just added sriracha to some boxed mac and cheese - god that was good. Kicked up the cheesiness a notch while adding some dimension. Otherwise, sriracha is always good in soups and mixed with ketchup.
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