Sriracha: Is it a Hype?

Question

Stealing CK's thread title on Ramen a bit... But this morning, was finishing up a leftover beef pancake roll and smeared some sriracha on it. Ate it as I normally would, but walked away thinking "hmm, sriracha kind of sucks". Yeah, its spicy, but its sort of one note and doesn't really add much flavor. I've especially noticed this recently with Pho, where sriracha is always the hot sauce available and I find myself sometimes bringing some of my lao gan ma chili flakes to add to the Pho. Now granted, Lao gan ma is full of MSG, i'm sure, but that adds a depth of flavor to any noodle soup or frankly any application i'd typically use Sriracha for that Sriracha cannot come close to.

I ask is it a hype in that we've seen an explosion of Sriracha usage over the past few years and when people in the US think "asian hot sauce", i would imagine sriracha is what comes to mind. Yet, I feel as if there are so many better and undiscovered options.

Answer

I'm not a fan of sweet condiments. To me sriracha is like ketchup, not better, not worse, not more or less flexible, but also not more or less interesting. My favorite chili sauce is tuong ot an pho -- Thai fried chilies and garlic paste. Absolutely addictive.

Answer

"Yet, I feel as if there are so many better and undiscovered options."

That's true of just about everything. 
I like sriracha. I use it. If there are better Asian hot sauces out there, maybe one day I'll try them. Asian food/cooking is not my forte, so I am happy with sriracha. I tend not to obsess about "the next best thing" in food anymore. Yes, I seek out quality, but I don't get crazy. Maybe it comes with age.

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I agree. I'm so sick of seeing it everywhere. 

Over a decade ago, my friends and I used to frequent this local hole in the wall Chinese takeout place. It was decent food and cheap enough that you could eat your fill of various dishes for $5. And they always had a bottle of Sriracha on the counter and urged you to squirt some on your styrofoam plate before leaving. 

I remember us all being smitten with it back then, we were teenagers and had never had the stuff before. One of my friends liked it so much he went and bought a bottle and would carry it around in his backpack and squirt it on EVERYTHING he ate. Burgers, fries, pizza, chicken wings. 

I would put some on my plate occasionally but I haven't had the stuff in many years now. I prefer other Asian condiments personally.

It obviously appeals to some peoples' tastes but I think the hype is like any other stupid food trend--like cupcakes or salted caramel or putting bacon in everything. It's like someone somewhere wakes up one day and decides "Oh this tastes good" and then it gets overhyped to the point of disgusting everyone. It will fade away eventually. I hope.

Answer

Sriracha was made with certain dishes in mind. It was never meant to be an all purpose condiment.
 Then stupid people, who basically jump on anything said to be hip, started putting it on everything. Getting burned out on the flavor is just normal if you use it like ketchup.

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At or near the top of my "Mostly Overrated" list.

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In my opinion, yes.

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Hype and trendy, yes...one note no. I've never tried lao gan ma, but I find chili flakes in general, one trick ponies. I find sriracha or even shichimi togarashi more tasty and interesting

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I don't really care for it. I thought I was the only one.

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It may be overhyped, but it's hype with some pretty strong legs on it. I can remember in 2007 or so Chowhound was suddenly full of endless discussions about how people were eating it. In terms of fads it's outlasted macarons, cupcakes, and cronuts and will probably still be around when everyone has forgotten abour ramen too. Of course there are better chili sauces but the red rooster plastic bottle is now available everywhere. The last time I had it it tasted sort of hot and not much else, I'm kind of over it.

Answer

I first saw Sriracha in Chinese dumpling places and Vietnamese pho houses back in 2002. Within about 3 or 4 years it became mainstream.

I use it selectively (dumplings, sausages, bratwurst, soups) and think it's terrific.

Every year people predict that bacon has peaked and will soon go away yet that never seems to happen. I think Sriracha is here to stay.

Answer

I'm pretty sure I saw Huy Fong Sriracha in pho houses in California in the late '80s or early '90s. So your question of whether it's hype is indeed quite analogous to the ramen hype question thread you mentioned, in that you will get replies from people who say it can't be "hype" if it's been around for more than X amount of time. They define hype mainly by time. To me, whether something is popular as a result of "hype" doesn't depend so heavily on the amount of time it's been around. To me, whether something is popular because of "hype" turns on whether people are consuming it mainly because they heard something that makes them feel they ought to be eating it, whether that is to make themselves feel knowledgable, cool, or whatever. I have seen Huy Fong Sriracha t-shirts, so I suspect there is an element of that. Someone must think it's cool. As far as I'm concerned, sriracha is no more "cool" than ketchup, mustard, mayo, other hot sauces, or any other such condiment. There are hundreds of hot sauces out there, and I enjoy many of them.

Answer

There are many types of Sriracha sauces available, so the taste may differ between brands. I think it's okay, but I prefer other hot sauces.

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It's the same old story: interesting ingredient or condiment gets popular in one area, slowly spreads, and then writers who need to fill up a magazine or blog by a deadline pounce on it and hype it like they've discovered the Fountain of Youth, non-fattening chocolate, and non-addictive heroin all in one. And then you see the ingredient everywhere (I'm sure someone's producing sriracha cupcakes somewhere). When fast food chains or big packaged food companies start touting it you know the fad is on its downward cycle.

I first encountered sriracha way back when: a place I worked at in the late 90s had it on the condiments table in the company cafeteria. I have a bottle in the kitchen, along with a few other hot sauces. It's good enough to perk up some of Trader Joe's frozen foods, or a bowl of soup.

Answer

hype? yes and no, I did feel sort of co-opted when it hit the mainstream after having to endlessly scour odd places to find it in 1987 but I'm not an 'either - or' person, I say 'this - and!' so go ahead put it on the table as on some things it's great, some just kinda gratuitous.

The thrill is gone but I say keep it around as yet one more option. although I do prefer "Rooster" brand's Tuong ot toi Viet Nam version of chili-garlic.

I do like their 'sate' sauce, but use that earlier in the cooking, not so much as a condiment.

Answer

I think an awful lot depends on whose sriracha you're using. The one Trader Joe's sells is like a sort of ketchup – the only reason I tried it was it was a free sample and I was (briefly!) curious – and I've not tried the others because Huy Fong's is so good. I don't use ketchup at all unless I'm making meatloaf, and have an array of hot hot sauces whose special uses and flavors I've learned over the years, but HF sriracha's flavor covers a range of hot, sour, sweet and tangy that makes me want to try it on anything short of ice cream … and that could change, too! Most consistently I team it with the other Trendy Darling, Red Boat fish sauce, to marinate tofu cubes for several different dishes I like to do. Pad Thai, Thai curries, mushroom and vegetable stir-fries – all good. And every time I use it I always wipe the nozzle with a fingertip and lick it. Dessert!

Answer

Every fad has its backlash. There's a simple reason everyone jumped on the Sriracha bandwagon: it tastes good. And now that it has become ubiquitous, for those of us who take a certain pride in being at the forefront of food trends, the stuff has lost its charm. But trendiness is not inversely proportional to deliciousness, I say. Perhaps the Sriracha quesarito or Sriracha Lay's deserve a bit of an eye roll, and perhaps trend followers are putting Sriracha where it does not need to be, but that doesn't make Sriracha any less the versatile and easy to like hot sauce that won you over years ago.

Answer

Last year's thread about the same thing
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/983081
Pureeing the Myth of Sriracha Sauce

and one that started in 2007
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/438162
Sriracha Chili Sauce Condiment or Crack?!

Answer

I always thought it was a trendy Asian condiment . Then I found out it's made in the U.S . I don't use it that much , but I do like it . What a great story of a man who started selling his product on the streets of L.A . Coming from nothing and naming his company after the ship that transported him to the U.S. He's right . There is no need to trade mark the name . Doing 80 million a year in business is a dream . After thirty years how great is it to have your product called hype .

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I simply view it as another hot sauce. I don't even know if I have any in my house right now. Yeah, I think it is hyped a bit. But I don't dislike it.

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Is ketchup "hype"? Or for a closer analogy, Tabasco and similar cayenne pepper sauces - which had their 15 minutes of fame before there was a World Wide Web? Using it on everything one eats and expressing one's undying love for it and/or one's inability to live without it on Internet blogs is undoubtedly hype (not to mention idiotic). But the condiment itself was around long before there was The Web and will no doubt be around long after the aforementioned idiotic bloggers have moved on to some New Thing they've never heard of before that'll then become the "greatest thing on Earth" because, well, they've never heard of it before...

I don't use it in pho broth myself, but like it as dipping sauce for the noodles, or mixed with hoisin sauce as a dipping sauce for the beef. Most VN places that have it on the table, also have just plain ground chili paste, which I prefer mixing into pho broth itself, when I feel like it. It's more "monolithic" than sriracha, but it's not sweet and it's spicier. I also love it (there, I said it! <lol>) as a dipping sauce for fried spring rolls (as well, for some reason, as many other deep-fried foods)...

Answer

If you have an Indian supermarket where you are, see if it carries the SWAD brand of a ketchup-type "Chili and Garlic sauce". It is not as galloping hot as Sriracha so you get more flavor and less burn. (Horrified addendum---I just now checked to see if you can order SWAD Chili-Garlic Sauce online and you can if you want to pay amazon $5.99 for the sauce plus $8 shipping. What are they thinking? The bottle I bought at Patel's in Chicago has a sticker on the lid that says $1.99. So look for it at your local Indian market. It looks just like a bottle of ketchup---is not in a Sriracha-type jar.)

http://www.amazon.com/Swad-Chilli-Garlic-Sauce-17-6oz/dp/B004XTDKB0

Answer

I thought I answered, but guess not.

In short, I don't think Sriracha itself is a hype. I think it is a good sauce which deserves a following. However, I think some of movements are hyped up. For example, restaurants and food products trying to put Sriracha in everything.

Answer

shh... I prefer Frank's for the vinegar bomb.

Answer

Now that the jocks like sriracha, the nerds are pretending they never liked it.

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The media/chain restaurant hype is annoying. There are certain things I use Sriracha on. Eggs, chicken wings, mixed with mayo, in thousand island dressing or on fried rice. Certainly not planning to stop consuming it because someone declared it untrendy.

Answer

I have a related question.

Originally, I was going to say that there are certain aspects of Sriracha have been clearly hyped up. The fact that people put Sriracha on almost everything to just make it seems cool like 

1) Sriracha on pizza (Pizza Hut):

http://www.self.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Pizza-Hut-Sriracha.jpg

2) Sriracha flavored chips (several brands):

http://media3.onsugar.com/files/2013/02/07/3/192/1922195/2384022bdaf21160_Lay_s-Sriracha-Chips.jpg

http://media1.onsugar.com/files/2014/01/02/914/n/1922195/23e5975c5626afd9_kettle-chips-sriracha.jpg.xxxlarge_2x.jpg

3) Sriracha ice cream

People are putting Sriracha on everything like it is a magical sauce.


Then I realize, we do treat ketchup like a magic sauce. I have seen people put ketchup from hamburger, hot dog to pizza, salad and potato chip:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/91GSJSJbWCL._SL1500_.jpg

So is Sriracha really being hyped up? Or are we simply seeing its transformation from a specialized sauce to an universal sauce.

Answer

Personally I don't think just because something becomes popular or trendy or overdone makes it less good. The cupcake example discussed in this thread is a good example... Yeah they're overdone and sometimes poorly executed but they're actually kind of a cool idea for a food trend and can be really delicious and inventive. 
Sriracha is not the most amazing condiment known to man and not good for everything but it is pretty good and cheap and that's probably why it's everywhere. Not because it's the most interesting....

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Speaking of brands of sriracha ... I don't care for Huy Fong brand - has a nasty 'bite' to me.. Much prefer Shark Brand from Thailand - it's so smooth and has nice flavors followed by real Thai Pepper heat.

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Has anyone replaced their Sriracha with Gochujang?

http://www.eater.com/2015/5/29/8688179/video-pork-belly-sriracha-marinated-gochujang

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Huy Fong Sriracha and Lousiana-style hot sauces are my favorite hot sauces. Both add flavor to a dish.

Yes... Companies are jumping on the Sriracha bandwagon, but I'll stay loyal to Huy Fong.

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I think the troubling thing about "overhyped" flavors/products is that they tend to lead to culinary laziness. I mean, it's one thing when a Pizza Hut adds a newly mainstream "taste" to its LCD menu offerings, but it's sad when an otherwise talented, capable chef decides that sriracha (or ranch dressing for that matter) is just an easy flavor synonym for "heat" or "spice". It disincentives them from exploring, say, fire-roasted habaneros or Trinadad yellow hot sauce for their next dish. Sriracha suggests marketability to them at that point and limits the heights a plate might otherwise reach.

Answer

Hype? Maybe. Market saturation? Depends on your point of view. Assimilation into the general cultural consciousness? Absolutely. 

A lot of folks who try and add sriracha into their diet will likely try other sauces and condiments.

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Sriracha: Is it a Hype?

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