Huy Fong has been different ever since they lost Underwood. Also, Mexico in general reported in a poor 2023 harvest, it was a bad weather year. So it's likely many hot sauce makers that source there have had their own quality issues.

This NPR article on the history of Sriracha sauce is amusing—and a little testy because Hoy Fong isn't the real deal. But since Sriracha (so spelled on signs in Thailand, though it's currently spelled Si Racha in English) is a district and town, the name can't be trademarked. I've never seen (in my limited exposure) an American bottle labelled ”Sriracha” other than Hoy Fong, which was anything but a version of what FOAS would call ”hot sauce”. Some are good...hot sauce. Having just read what the original Thai version is like, I'm eager to try it. Apparently, Hoy Fong has never been able to keep up with demand, and the harvest issues only push that forward, It's always been plentiful here, close to where it's made, until the farm issues, but with the announcement, it's gone out of stock, fast.

This is what I bought.

I got it the last time everyone was raving about it.

Pass. What food do you use it on?

You’ve gone through like a third of a bottle, Sherry, if you don’t like it on anything yet I’d suggest stop ruining your food!

Well, I hate to waste anything, and that was probably only two or three meals. It was mostly likely a sandwich??? or two?

Still what do you use it on? What meat or cuisine? May be I am putting Chinese on Mexican or something.??? I know I do NOT like India food. The spice combation is something I do not like and I do not like coconut milk in food.

I will probably throw away soon.

I need to look for Sriraja Panich next time I'm at the Asian market.

Thailand’s Thaitheparos seeks to chip away at Huy Fong Foods’ dominance of the American palate with Sriraja Panich.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2019-04-06/thaitheparos-sriraja-panich-sriracha-comes-to-the-u-s-market?utm_campaign=news&utm_medium=bd&utm_source=applenews

Judi, so I should be using on Asian? May explain why I did not like.

Sherry, I use it in some Thai dishes. I love it on scrambled eggs.

I can imagine the color of sauce made from green peppers - it might not bother some people, but I think it would cause many to take a pass, since they'd be used to it being red, and might think it was spoiled. And green peppers tend to be less sweet than ripe ones.

I've never used sriracha myself - not crazy about the added flavors. This has always been my fave - only peppers, salt & vinegar:

There’s a breakfast patty I make, of oats and chicken, possibly too far removed from goetta to call goetta but that was the starting point (thanks Judi). Anyway I love it on that. There’s a hamburger helper type simple recipe that’s a household staple here, a bit boring for my taste, I douse it on that. Eggs sometimes, but more often I use hot sauce. Sometimes I dollup cottage cheese in my salad and give a squirt of stiracha, with or without dijon mustard as well, in lieu of salad dressing. I mix it with soy sauce, ginger, sherry, for a dipping sauce that I prefer over what comes with the package of dumplings. Those come to mind, but there are other random times I’ll squirt it on something. Similar to using hor sauce, but a different decision.

So Asian. Asian is not my favoitite unless it is American Chinese. I do not like Thai or Viet. That explains why I do not like sriricha.

What makes it Sriracha is the flavors of garlic, sugar salt and acid (vinegar), along with the heat and flavor of the peppers, plus the viscosity of xanthum gum, which I appreciate because it stays in place. It is specifically not watery, which most hot sauce is.

I use it in sandwiches, the old hotter one as dots, the recent one as lines. Great with mustard in a turkey sandwich. It's also good in a quick sauce for cooked shrimp or eggs in a way regular hot sauce is too tart and drippy. There are lots of recipes using it, but I think there are better things to cook with. It's a condiment. If you cook with condiments, it might fit your style. If not, don't bother.

Sherry, given the shortage, why not give away, rather than throw away, your partial bottle?

Only one of the things I listed was Asian but it is supposed to be an Asian type sauce (look at the bottle!) so yeah if that doesn’t appeal to you…

It's also good mixed with plain hummus.

The timing of you post is funny (to me) as at the dinner table last night the family was joking about feeding me the sauce. when I am older and no longer understand things , and tell me that I loved it in days past. this would be a way of getting back at for them for any thing I did to piss them of in younger years as to me the mildest stuff is spicy

I also do not eat ? Humas, what ever that is.

Chumus (ch as in Bach and long u's), often spelled and pronounced ”hummus”, (literally meaning chickpea) is called a “salad“ when it's home. It's made of chickpeas, sesame paste, garlic, lemon, sometimes hot water as needed, and a drizzle of fine olive oil on top. Some people process the heck out of it, making it into a fluffly sauce, but proper chumus is mashed together by hand, to no lumps, but still texture. It can be served hot or cold, often with ”goodies” on top, and you can stir various flavorings in if you're bored. Usually served with pita to tear into triangles to scoop it up with, though can also be eaten with a spoon or put into a sandwich. According to a neurologist who was extempoizing, it's good for your brain: IIRC, it's the chickpeas and olive oil together, but I might misremember. You need not eat it, if you don't care for it, but don't judge it by the awful stuff in the cold case at the grocery store. It's a staple food in the Middle East.

No reason not to use sriracha with hummus (especially the awful store bought kind), but harissa, or one of its cousins, would be so much better!

FOAS, the original was Thai (though reportedly based on a Chinese sauce) and meant to go with Thai food (“Asian”). Huy Fong Rooster on the bottle (supposed to originator David Tran's birth sign, Vietnamese calendar) comes from California (though now the peppers are Mexican). Tran is from Vietnam, and started making pepper sauce there, though I don't know if it was similar to the current, commercial one. It used to only be at Asian restaurants and stores (so, yes, with Asian food), at least in my neighborhood, then became stylish and expanded awhile back. It was on the table as a condiment. For all I know people were putting it on their versions of sandwiches, so maybe not quintessentially Asian food. :)

Yeah I said ”Asian type” as I recall seeing discussion about its authenticity or whatever, and it wasn’t a rabbit hole I’m ready for!

Sherry, American Chinese? That's a new one on me - sounds like lousy Chinese.

Anyway, if your food palate is as narrow as you suggest, I have a good use for your sriracha.

I've combined two different beef marinades from Cooks Illustrated. I use it when grilling beef tri-tip.

The base is mostly soy sauce. To that I add some fresh grated ginger or some ginger from a container, onion powder and a good amount of garlic powder, some Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, a splash of olive oil, a little lemon juice or vinegar, and then the most important ingredient - several good squirts of sriracha. Mix it well in the container. I use a large sealable plastic bag and put it with the meat in the fridge on a plate. I turn it over every 30 minutes or so. It can marinate for several hours or more. Then I cook it the normal way on the grill, using mostly indirect heat and then a quick sear on both sides to finish it medium rare.

EVERY TIME I've served tri-tip prepared this way to dinner guests, it gets rave reviews. What seems to happen is that the marinade coats the exterior of the meat with what I think of as a complex flavor that wakes up the eater's taste buds. It's not an experience like eating spicy food, it's the soft undertone of the chili heat that causes the positive reaction.

If you don't like the sriracha you have, why do you keep it?

No reason not to use sriracha with hummus (especially the awful store bought kind), but harissa, or one of its cousins, would be so much better!

Yikes! 🙀

I'd hate to have to make hummus every time I wanted to eat it. Love keeping "the awful store bought kind" in my fridge.

The plain version is also good mixed with gochujang sauce (not the paste).

Homemade is worth it, especially from dried beans not canned, but I’m fine with the awful store stuff, too!

I make hummus frequently, and always from dried beans. We go through it fairly quickly. One unusual use for hummus that I like is as a condiment for tuna salad sandwiches. I learned this from Ina Garten and was unsure about it at first, but I really like it. Instead of sandwiches, I make wraps, and this may be what Ina did as well. Refried beans are a common condiment for tortas in Mexico, and so it's not a stretch to think of hummus similarly.

As for Sriracha - I have not bought it in years. I make my own hot sauces, and I used to grow the chilies for them, but I guess I won't be doing that anymore. I do buy Chinese chili paste, which has chilies and garlic, and I like it better than Sriracha. I have also bought quite a few bottled hot sauces, as I pick them up when I am shopping out of town or happen to come across a store that specializes in them. Cárdenas in Cathedral City has a good selection.

If you want Sriracha on your sandwich, I recommend mixing a small amount of it with mayonnaise first. I keep a container of mayo mixed with hot sauce in my fridge at all times, as I am not fond of plain mayonnaise.

Incidentally, I always put garlic in the hot sauces that I make, and I like to grill/smoke the garlic with the chilies (and a red bell pepper) before making the sauce. I add the red bell pepper to cut the heat a bit, as I generally make the sauce with Habanero chilies.

No issues! I like ketchup, Ritz crackers, etc. And Huy Fong with its chemicals. I'm not judging you if you like what I don't. Just providing some perspective to people like Sherry, who may not have encountered what I would call ”the good stuff”. It's like Chips Ahoy vs. homemade Toll House. The former is fine for what it is, and a lot easier to obtain than making your own all the time, but still quite different in texture and flavor from homemade.

Whatever! I will stay with the hot sauces I like. No one has explained what is different between sriracha and tabasco,

No one has explained what is different between sriracha and tabasco

I’m not sure what explanation you’re hoping for? You can look at the ingredients list to see what differs there, and you’ve already tasted them, know what they’re like, and determined that you like one and not the other. What more is there? You don’t like it like I don’t like sweet relish. It’s fine!

I wonder if Sambal oelek will be affected again?

Chips Ahoy vs. homemade Toll House

Not even close. I'd find another analogy.

No one has explained what is different between sriracha and tabasco,

I thought someone did. Sriracha is less liquidy and doesn't have as much vinegar.

Which hot peppers? That will be the difference, not vinegar.

ETA: nevermind, no recipe for any of course.

Sherry, there is absolutely no reason to use sriracha if you don't like it! Tabasco ages their red pepper mash in oak barrels and is very vinegary and liquid. The only other ingredient is salt. Sriracha is made with sun ripened peppers that are puréed into a paste, and in addition to salt and vinegar, has sugar and garlic (more of each than vinegar), preservatives and xanthan gum. It has a very smooth, blended texture, and is viscous. That's what's different, along with the flavor, which I find greatly different.

Ah. Cross-posted. Sriracha was originally serranos--I read that the crops were inconsistant and they changed to jalapeños. Tabasco sauce, I believe, is made with tabasco peppers.

Judi, I don’t know what you mean. The cookie analogy is exactly what I meant. Not even close, sure, but both called by the same name with similar ingredients, and people like the supermarket kind.

Huy Fong uses jalapeno, I don't know which kind(s) since they use multiple farms now. Other sriracha makers may use them and also may use other peppers. Regular Tabasco uses Tabasco peppers. Green Tabasco also uses green jalapenos, I don't know which kind(s).

Tabasco is aged peppers, salt and vinegar , while sriracha has garlic and sugar in it as well - which I saw mentioned above. I understand Tabasco is aged in oak barrels, which gives it a unique flavor.

Sriracha sauce and Tabasco sauce are nothing the same. Like comparing Ketchup to Sriracha sauce. Or comparing mustard to mayonnaise. Totally different taste other than they are both hot. I like to put some Tabasco sauce on things like a bowl of chili.

[::snicker::] AG, you remind me of one time when I was in Phoenix many many years ago. We were having lunch on a lovely partially shaded patio at a place known for its Southwestern food. I ordered "five alarm chili", and should have known better if they had to give it that kind of name. No heat at all. And not enough ”flavor” to sub for it (my mother made delicious purposfully no heat chili, this wasn't like that). They brought me Tabasco! Not anything local or anything, though the Tabasco helped the chili. I don't know about the rest of their menu, but the chili was from ... Iowa, maybe?

I like Sriracha sauce because of its flavor and how it contributes to the flavor of what it's added to, in addition to the spiciness. Tabasco to me is simply hot, I never use it.

Tabasco to me is simply hot, I never use it.

My husband prefers Louisiana Gold. I live in Louisiana and have never cared for Tabasco or Louisiana Gold. Both are just peppery vinegar to my taste buds.

Is that a spicy saucy cat rob?

Elmer, I’ll pretty much agree with that assessment. Tabasco definitely has a taste but to me it doesn’t add a whole lot beyond heat. But that does have it's place, for me: If I'm eating chili that tastes good but could use a bit of heat, I'd likely grab the Tabasco. Maybe a couple drips in a hollandaise? It's the only hot sauce I ever really used in a Bloody Mary. On its own it woudn't be my first choice as a condiment for eggs, but I'd take it over nothing if that's the choice given. And maybe choose it over sriracha for my eggs, depending on my mood.

That's Murphy''s assessment of hot sauce assessments, bees 😉

PS we're having chili coconut crab (made with Sriracha) today before kiddo his the road back after the big Mother's Day bash. Was good to have company, and all was fantastic! So it'll be the icing on the cake

Agreed that Tabasco is just hot and a little salty and acidic, which works as a condiment. IME, it can brighten up muddled flavors besides the added heat. Like in the meh chili I described above. The very present salt and vinegar go to work, too.

I don't like Sriracha because it is too sweet although I do use it as an ingredient in some marinades and a couple of other recipes. By itself it is mostly sweet w/ a side of heat. Ruinous on eggs to my taste.

I buy the big 12 oz. bottles of Tabasco because we go thru a lot of it. I can't eat eggs without Tabasco & like to mix it into ketchup for French Fries. I also like Choulula sauce--reach for it when we're eating Mexican food in a restaurant. But I don't like it enough to buy it and because, my homemade TexMex has the heat built in and doesn't need a supplement.

Don't care for Frank's or Louisiana hot sauce--a couple of the other mainstream hot sauces. When I try a new sauce and end up not liking it, I will dump it into a pot of beans or chili or enchilada/ tortilla soups where it can meld into the other flavors.

It’s interesting to me that you find sriracha too sweet but eat ketchup.

I don't put ketchup on my eggs so it should follow that I would not want a sweet hot sauce on eggs, either.

While eggs were mentioned at the end, that paragraph read like general commentary about sriricha to me. Thanks for the clarification!

I don't put any sauce on my eggs unless they're made in it like rancheros or shakshuka. :) I highly defend anyone who wants to use Tabasco, Sriracha, ketchup, etc., so long as I'm not required to do so.

I've been known to grab the Sriracha because it's easy. Knowing there won't be more for awhile, I'm back to using other things when it doesn't have to be Sriracha. I made it through the last interregnum without running out. :) There are lots of very nice things to eat in this world. I have some peppers I dried which need to be turned into sauce....

I don’t use sriracha for much, although we have a couple bottles laying around, but I do like a ”sriracha mayo” that came from I don’t know where. Like a slightly more interesting mayo. Sriracha is pretty mild stuff but it livens up mayo.

In general I’m not a big hot sauce fan, except in very small quantities. I find hot sauce sort of like ketchup, both poor substitutes for deeper and richer flavors.

I came across this article, but I don’t know that it adds anything more than the NPR article that plllog cited.

from Chowhound via applenews

https://apple.news/A5drMEecZTS6ZbooL8ioiMg

I have planted the seeds from those Chinese dried red chilies and gotten red chilipeppers. The variety might be ’Facing Heaven’. very easy to grow.