Sriracha (/sɪˈrætʃə/ sirr-ATCH-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.[1]
In Thailand, sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particularly for seafood and omelets. In Vietnamese cuisine, sriracha appears as a condiment for phở and fried noodles, as a topping for spring rolls (chả giò), and in sauces.[2]
Sriracha is also eaten in soup, on eggs and burgers. Jams, lollipops, and cocktails have all been made using the sauce,[3] and sriracha-flavored potato chips have been marketed.[4]
The sauce was first produced in the 1940s by a Thai woman named Thanom Chakkapak in the town of Si Racha (or Sriracha), Thailand.[5][6] 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 Sriraja Panich were produced.[7]
In Thailand, the sauce is most often called sot Siracha (Thai: ซอสศรีราชา) and only sometimes nam phrik Siracha (Thai: น้ำพริกศรีราชา). Traditional Thai sriracha sauce tends to be tangier in taste, and runnier in texture than non-Thai versions.[6]
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.[6]
In the United States, sriracha is associated with a jalapeño-based sauce produced by Huy Fong Foods[8][9] and is sometimes referred to as "rooster sauce" or "cock sauce"[10] from the image of a rooster on the bottle.[11] Other variations of sriracha have appeared in the U.S. market, including a sriracha that is aged in whiskey barrels.[12][13] The Huy Fong Foods Sriracha was first produced in the early 1980s for dishes served at American phở restaurants.[9]
Various restaurants in the US, including Wendy's,[14] Applebee's, P.F. Chang's,[15] 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.[9][16][17][18][19][20] The word "sriracha" is considered a generic term.[citation needed]
In 2022, Huy Fong Foods Sriracha sauce temporarily halted production due to a shortage of chili peppers, causing the price to increase to $30 a bottle or higher.[21] The halt in production lasted for over a year.[22][23]
