"I guess it goes with alcohol"

May 20, 2009 10:12 AM

"Some American consumers believe sriracha (properly pronounced SIR-rotch-ah) to be a Thai sauce. Others think it is Vietnamese. The truth is that sriracha, as manufactured by Huy Fong Foods, may be best understood as an American sauce, a polyglot purée with roots in different places and peoples." A Chili Sauce to Crow About.
posted by dersins (102 comments total)

Now in 37 states.
posted by dersins at 10:14 AM on May 20, 2009

... and 13 Canadian provinces and territories! A big favourite around our place.
posted by sporb at 10:18 AM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Yay! Cocksauce! I've gotta go buy some of that stuff ... I haven't had any in so long.
posted by The Great Big Mulp at 10:20 AM on May 20, 2009

I know that the sriracha sauce sold all over the States isn't even close to authentic, but I prefer it to the real stuff. I once bought a sampler of various srirachas here.
posted by painquale at 10:21 AM on May 20, 2009

My favorite hot sauce. Lots of heat (but not too much, yeah I'm looking at you Dave's Insanity Sauce) and no vinegar flavor.
posted by doctor_negative at 10:22 AM on May 20, 2009

If you watch the cooking competition shows, those guys use this stuff a lot.

Can't say I blame them.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:23 AM on May 20, 2009

I like sriracha.
posted by box at 10:23 AM on May 20, 2009

As an aside, chili peppers were originally imported to SE Asia from S. America.
posted by Burhanistan at 10:24 AM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Though I've become more of a sambal oelek man, myself.
posted by Joe Beese at 10:24 AM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Huh. I had always said it like "sri-racha," using the same sound as Sri Lanka.

I tend to prefer the paste to the sauce, though it's interesting that here in LA every restaurant seems to either have Sriracha or Chulula on the table.

It also makes a pretty decent base for a barbecue sauce.
posted by klangklangston at 10:25 AM on May 20, 2009

I keep a bottle of this next to my desk for use on pretty much anything Asian with noodles in it. Soup included.
posted by ben242 at 10:27 AM on May 20, 2009

You can make a damn fine bloody mary with the judicious application of that stuff.
posted by Shohn at 10:29 AM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

I like it, but I prefer to just dump ground thai peppers into whatever I'm making if I'm actually cooking a dish. Usually, putting rooster sauce on something means the something isn't very good, which makes it a slightly upscale ketchup.
posted by Bookhouse at 10:30 AM on May 20, 2009

He figured that immigrants of Vietnamese ancestry would stock his sriracha at pho shops. He hoped that the occasional American consumer might squirt it on hot dogs and hamburgers.

He could never have expected what he found, one recent afternoon, as he trolled the Internet in search of what fans of his sauce have wrought.

Mr. Tran scanned pictures of 20-something women in homemade Halloween costumes designed to resemble the Huy Fong bottle. He navigated to one of two sriracha Facebook pages, the larger of which has more than 120,000 fans.

He retrieved a favorite picture, of Travis Mason, a 36-year-old coffee salesman from Portland, Ore., who commissioned a tattoo of the Huy Fong logo on his left calf. “I’m always interested in what they do,” Mr. Tran said, his voice filled with genuine wonderment.

Welcome to the internet, sir. There's wonderment around each corner.

Who can take your product
And draw the logo on their shoe
Twitter to their friends and a facebook group or two
The Internet
The Internet can
The Internet can 'cause they're always looking for the next trend or product to latch onto in ironic or honest fascination ...

Over the last decade, a number of imitators have entered the sriracha category. A recent visit to grocery stores in the San Gabriel Valley, near the Huy Fong headquarters, yielded Cock brand sriracha (for the fratties), Shark brand (for the ultimate fighters), Phoenix brand (for the new agey-folk) and Unicorn brand (for the hipsters).
posted by filthy light thief at 10:31 AM on May 20, 2009 [6 favorites]

Really? Just the NYT link? You couldn't be bothered to think of anything else to add to this post? Like where to buy it or what to make with it or even how to make it yourself?
posted by incessant at 10:33 AM on May 20, 2009 [8 favorites]

I used to not like spicy food. Then I tried sriracha. <3
posted by spec80 at 10:43 AM on May 20, 2009

Where to buy it? Everywhere. What to make with it? Anything. How to make it yourself? Oh, man, that sounds goddamn delicious.
posted by box at 10:44 AM on May 20, 2009

We've had sriracha around her for ages. The stuff seriously rocks.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:47 AM on May 20, 2009

Oh, cool. We always called it "rooster sauce" too.

I noticed some wee bottles of it at World Market, and I'm tempted to stock up so I can carry it with me. But, as previously mentioned, I do have a condiment problem.
posted by JoanArkham at 10:54 AM on May 20, 2009

Yay, something we can all agree on!
posted by electroboy at 10:54 AM on May 20, 2009

Mmmm, goes great with hoisin sauce and a giant steaming bowl of Pho.
posted by blithecatpie at 10:57 AM on May 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

A bottle of this stuff with a few packs of rice noodles = the cheaper and yummier way to get through poverty times than those fancy-schmancy hoitie-toity elitist Ramen noodles.

You gotta get the rice stick noodles at Asian grocers though. American supermarkets sell the same noodles in their "ethnic" sections as "wheat-free pasta" at about a $500 markup. Seriously.
posted by Cookiebastard at 10:59 AM on May 20, 2009

Er, 500% markup.
posted by Cookiebastard at 11:00 AM on May 20, 2009

Long live Huy Fong Foods!
posted by LakesideOrion at 11:02 AM on May 20, 2009

Don't let dersins get to you, incessant. You know who else doesn't have an extensive posting history on the blue?

Sorry. Had to get in on that trend before it played itself out. Oh, wait.

And agreed: Sriracha is fucking great.
posted by barrett caulk at 11:02 AM on May 20, 2009

For a while a class of mine in San Quentin was right after dinner and about half the class would show up with bottles of Sriracha still in hand. They felt it helped to make the food there edible.
posted by small_ruminant at 11:04 AM on May 20, 2009

Although I no longer eat meat, Sriracha makes an ordinary bigmac even more delicious.
posted by BillJenkins at 11:08 AM on May 20, 2009

I, too, love the Sriracha. I always enjoy how every street-food cart in Portland serves it - Asian, Mexican, with french fries and fish, it's as ubiquitous as ketchup around here.
posted by elwoodwiles at 11:10 AM on May 20, 2009

Sriracha is the only thing I'm a fan of on facebook.
posted by saul wright at 11:12 AM on May 20, 2009

I'm glad to learn I'm not the only one to call it "cocksauce."
posted by sourwookie at 11:28 AM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

I like sriracha in bloody marys, but that's it. It's a good sauce, mind, but I think of it as adding heat and garlic and little else.

We go through bottle after bottle of ABC's Sambal Manis Pedas, though. Excellent with french fries or on eggs.

When we visited Indonesia I frickin' loved fresh sambal. It's ground with a mortar and pestle, with plenty of fresh veggies and chilis. I dumped spoonful after spoonful on vegetable curries, fried tempeh, gado gado, you name it.

Then, in a cooking class in Ubud, I saw how it was made. The chef reached into a bucket, grabbed a handful of live wriggling paddy eels, dropped them in the mortar and started grinding. My poor little vegetarian heart was broken.
posted by xthlc at 11:31 AM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

I find it hysterical that I've seen bottles of this stuff around for decades, and have never, ever tried it. And now I see people fall over themselves saying how good it is. Now I know I have to try it.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 11:39 AM on May 20, 2009

...or what to make with it or...

What a waste of filet mignon.
posted by Inspector.Gadget at 11:40 AM on May 20, 2009

Cock on noodles, ooh!
posted by carsonb at 11:47 AM on May 20, 2009

sriracha (properly pronounced SIR-rotch-ah)

Odd, I've read it's pronounced SEE-rah-chah. Delicious stuff by any name.
posted by Dr-Baa at 11:57 AM on May 20, 2009

Ah, cock sauce. I had seen it on the shelves many times before actually trying and falling in love with it. Thanks for the link!
posted by Meagan at 11:59 AM on May 20, 2009

Sriracha, Cholula, and Tabasco - my holy trinity of hotsauces. None of them are so hot that I can't enjoy them and each imparts it's own special flavor.

(properly pronounced SIR-rotch-ah)
I'm glad for the pronunciation guide. I defaulted to calling it 'rooster sauce' too because I wasn't sure how to say it.
posted by djeo at 12:08 PM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

The main way I've changed since I moved to California from Arizona is that instead of dipping my pizza in ranch dressing, I dip it in a mixture of half ranch dressing, half sriracha. Highly recommend.
posted by padraigin at 12:09 PM on May 20, 2009

It tastes great, but the only issue I have with the sauce is that it uses potassium sorbate and sodium bisulfite as a preservatives...
posted by KokuRyu at 12:12 PM on May 20, 2009

Pho + sriracha = the closest thing to Heaven.
posted by flibbertigibbet at 12:13 PM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

My first run-in with sriracha was at a Pho Hoa in Seattle. I overdid it -- The broth turned bright red, and within a few minutes, so did my face. I vowed then to conquer the mighty cock bottle, and eight years later I rarely go a day without putting it on something. Take that, Huy Fong. And by "that", I mean fistfuls of cash.
posted by jake at 12:15 PM on May 20, 2009

Yay, something we can all agree on!

The list as it now stands
1) Mr. Rogers
2) Sriracha
posted by flaterik at 12:21 PM on May 20, 2009 [28 favorites]

At the Vietnamese places around these parts they have a bottle of the cocksauce (the real proper pronunciation, BTW) and a generic ketchup bottle filled with what I assume is just a basic chili and garlic number.

I enjoy this way more than the cocksauce, though it is good as well. My main issue with it is that anything I add it to just ends up tasting like sriracha before it gets hot enough. I now reserve it for things like the chilean empanadas that my cafeteria makes every second thursday.

Now I am hungry.
posted by utsutsu at 12:23 PM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

The main way I've changed since I moved to California from Arizona is that instead of dipping my pizza in ranch dressing, I dip it in a mixture of half ranch dressing, half sriracha. Highly recommend.

Doh, I though I was the only one to have discovered this heavenly combination! It's also great for dipping french fries and grilled meats (think satay or shrimp). It's like adding the deliciousness of buffalo wings to everything you put it on.
posted by TungstenChef at 12:24 PM on May 20, 2009

Russian meat dumplings with Madras curry powder, Sriracha sauce, and cilantro. Favorites with Juneau, AK teenagers and drunks. It makes sub-par takeout stir-fry into something tasty, especially Mongolian beef.

I searched all over, then I found you, Sriracha.
posted by Foam Pants at 12:29 PM on May 20, 2009

"Sriracha, Cholula, and Tabasco"

Ugh. Too much vinegar in Cholula and Tabasco.
posted by klangklangston at 12:34 PM on May 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

Vinegar is God, and it will smite you!
posted by aramaic at 12:39 PM on May 20, 2009 [3 favorites]

xthlc: ...I think of it as adding heat and garlic and little else.

I can live with that.
posted by Greg_Ace at 12:47 PM on May 20, 2009

Chez Pim claims the article got the pronounciation and the origins of the sauce wrong.
I used to like the stuff. It's a little sweet and thin for my taste. I much, much prefer gochuchang for my insatiable chili paste needs. I buy the *big* box of it.
posted by hecho de la basura at 12:50 PM on May 20, 2009

Usually, putting rooster sauce on something means the something isn't very good

YOU
TAKE
THAT
BACK,
YOU
HORRIBLE
PERSON.
posted by FatherDagon at 12:52 PM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

Is that what these two are arguing about?

:D
posted by jfrancis at 12:52 PM on May 20, 2009

ok ok...you guys convinced me. I have always seen it in the store and have been curious about it. I guess I need a bottle now.
posted by ShawnString at 12:55 PM on May 20, 2009

A+++ Would buy again.
Seriously, I go through Sriracha about 17 times faster than ketchup.
posted by Vindaloo at 12:59 PM on May 20, 2009

Have you guys tried this with a plate of beans? A-W-E-S-O-M-E
posted by greensweater at 1:02 PM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

Yay, something we can all agree on!

The list as it now stands
1) Mr. Rogers
2) Sriracha

Mr. Rogers? Fuck that guy.
posted by 256 at 1:04 PM on May 20, 2009

Chez Pim claims the article got the pronounciation and the origins of the sauce wrong.

She's apparently also started a Twitter campaign to #TakeBackSriracha.

From whom, I'm not sure. The evil New York Times, I guess? Anyway, any doubts I had about the pointlessness and banality of Twitter have now been erased.
posted by dersins at 1:07 PM on May 20, 2009

but I think of it as adding heat awesome and garlic win and little else.

Fixt.
posted by ryoshu at 1:07 PM on May 20, 2009

Sriracha is like ketchup to me now, and is a nice additive to many sauces. I'm more of a habanero guy, now. Marie Sharp's, or 20-pepper sauce.

Rooster sauce is a good gateway sauce, though.
posted by Chuffy at 1:15 PM on May 20, 2009

My go-to slumming-it dish is mac and cheese with a generous amount of sriracha.
posted by dfan at 1:20 PM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

I love food anthropology, but I need more than 140-character rebuttals from ChezPim. ChezPim says it's "sree-" because it's named after a village, but the village itself is named Si Racha, isn't it? So I'm confused. :P Someone, preferably an actual food anthropologist rather than a random journalist or a random Twitterer, write a book with footnotes, and I'll be happy.

Cholula's a billion times better than Tabasco, which I think is far too vinegary. If a restaurant has Cholula (which I only learned about since moving to California), I put it on my fried eggs instead of salt.

Oddly enough, Cholula is also a red pepper sauce named after a city. Clearly this is an awesome category.

Rooster sauce is usually a bit much for me except in things--I made the best and spiciest meatball sauce ever once using Huy Fong's Sriracha and a billion other ingredients. But Mr. Wintersweet is an addict and would like to start buying it in the huge plastic jar size.
posted by wintersweet at 1:25 PM on May 20, 2009

My coworkers think I'm weird for keeping a bottle of Sriracha (alias "cock sauce", alias "the 'rach") in the breakroom. At least this means they aren't using it all.

Not that it matters -- the stuff is dirt cheap, which is its best feature in my book.
posted by neckro23 at 1:35 PM on May 20, 2009

I realize after just checking a picture, that I tried Cholula for the first time last week. It's tasty enough, but not so hot.

Any love for Grace Hot Pepper Sauce? I discovered this at my favorite Caribbean restaurant and it is now my go-to sauce.

also, tobasco sucks. sorry.
posted by utsutsu at 1:35 PM on May 20, 2009

Were you in my head dersins? Right after the MeFi meetup I ended up in a weird, random phone conversation about Sriracha...this person had never heard of it. And I was like, 'whaaa? You know, cocksauce.' And the confusion just continued from there...
posted by iamkimiam at 1:41 PM on May 20, 2009

also, tobasco sucks. sorry.

True story. My go-to sauce right now is Melinda's - the XXXX reserve is so damn fine that I bought a full gallon of it to keep in my closet and use for refills and sauces. One of the finest chicken dishes I've crafted in memory was chicken cuts marinaded in a garlic teryaki sauce that had a liberal pour of Mel's in the blend. Let that soak overnight and then grill it up with the sauce still dripping... it was shout-at-the-sky kinda good. Their Chipotle sauce is wicked too.
posted by FatherDagon at 1:49 PM on May 20, 2009

Damn, I have to try this stuff!

ChezPim says it's "sree-" because it's named after a village, but the village itself is named Si Racha, isn't it?

Yup. Thai (like English) has a very conservative spelling system that preserves Sanskrit consonants that aren't pronounced in Thai, so they write "Sri" but say /si/ (more like "see" than "sir"). Lao, basically the same language, has simplified spelling that represents the pronunciation much more closely. Moral: Don't believe things twits say on Twitter.

Really? Just the NYT link? You couldn't be bothered to think of anything else to add to this post? Like where to buy it or what to make with it or even how to make it yourself?

Knock that shit off. There is nothing wrong with a "single-link post" and a lot of us prefer them to those linkstravaganzas that I rarely even dip into, they look so intimidating. If you know of good extra links, add them yourself; otherwise STFU.
posted by languagehat at 1:50 PM on May 20, 2009 [9 favorites]

Ugh. Too much vinegar in Cholula and Tabasco.

Only a problem if they're the only hot sauces you own. Tabasco is for when you need to add hot + sour. Like for tomato juice.
posted by Bookhouse at 1:50 PM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

Being on a submarine for 2 months at a stretch, I became familiar with all sorts of flavor-adding sauces. Sriracha, Melinda's, Buffalo, Frank's, Cholula, all the different varieties of Tabasco and so on. People would bring cases of their favorites along.

It was very interesting how much variation in flavor was possible between what are basically just ground-up peppers (and possibly some liquid).
posted by ArgentCorvid at 2:08 PM on May 20, 2009

There is nothing wrong with a "single-link post" and a lot of us prefer them to those linkstravaganzas that I rarely even dip into, they look so intimidating are full of useless padding to appease those who would bitch at them for only posting a single link.
posted by setanor at 2:12 PM on May 20, 2009

I love this stuff. I used to put it on everything I ate for lunch or dinner. You haven't lived until you've had a burger with Sriracha sauce.
posted by reenum at 2:17 PM on May 20, 2009

Melinda's is great stuff. Another brand that consistently gets it right is Iguana, especially the Gold.

"Only a problem if they're the only hot sauces you own. Tabasco is for when you need to add hot + sour. Like for tomato juice."

I can see that, I guess. I'm willing to believe I've been doing it wrong, but I'm also consistently annoyed when it's the only hot sauce available at a restaurant. Other ones that annoy me when they're the only option are Frank's and Clancy's Fancy, a sauce I was always supposed to love because I grew up in Ann Arbor, but never understood the appeal of.
posted by klangklangston at 2:25 PM on May 20, 2009

I love sriracha.

Sriracha doesn't love me, as it contains sulfites. If they'd make a sulfite-free version, I'd be very happy. I miss it...
posted by spinifex23 at 2:34 PM on May 20, 2009

Wow. I'm not used to this much attention.
posted by sriracha at 2:49 PM on May 20, 2009 [13 favorites]

Sriracha plus broccoli is a match made in heaven. Sriracha plus broccoli plus a little cheddar cheese is double plus heaven. But then so many things are better with Sriracha: Fried eggs plus Srircha, spaghetti plus Sriracha, turkey wraps plus Sriracha. I douse my pizza with Tabasco-- everything else gets Srircha.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 3:33 PM on May 20, 2009

Lao, basically the same language, has simplified spelling that represents the pronunciation much more closely.

Lao was simplified after the communists took over in 1975. This included dumping some letters. For example, Lao has no letter R. The R in "Luang Prabang" is actually a Thai transliteration.
posted by gman at 3:38 PM on May 20, 2009

Sriracha is awesome stuff, no doubt about it. But when you need the vinegar the answer is Tapatio. I'm not sure why Cholula is getting all the love here. The only thing Cholula has over Tapatio is the wooden cap.
posted by aspo at 3:43 PM on May 20, 2009

Anybody know why some of the dumpling shops in NYC water down their sriracha? I've even seen this is places in Chinatown. Pisses me off.
posted by Afroblanco at 4:12 PM on May 20, 2009

(seen this in places in Chinatown)
posted by Afroblanco at 4:21 PM on May 20, 2009

The bar of a Thai restaurant I know of used to serve a cocktail that used Sriracha. It was completely awesome. I was never successful at completely reverse-engineering, but I know it included mandarin vodka and possibly a little bit of orange juice. A Thai pepper was rubbed on the rim of the glass, making it spicy.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 4:45 PM on May 20, 2009

alias "cock sauce"

Absolutely. I'm surprised it took this long for someone to mention it.
posted by mendel at 4:47 PM on May 20, 2009

Yeah, I'll pile on.

I was introduced to the stuff in the mid 1990's by a pharmacist that I worked with whose wife was Asian. I thank him for giving me the correct pronunciation at the outset.

At the risk of sounding all "hipster" and stuff, I've been down with it for so long I forget that others have not. I used to put it on virtually every piece of pizza I would eat.

The thing is though, it contains plenty of sugar, which pushes it away from a pure hot sauce into ketchupville, which is probably why it's so popular. These days I relegate it to a condiment for legumes and corn.

For "pure" hot sauce, I've said it before and I'll say it again, discovering hot sauce with lime juice changed my world. So my current pantheon of hot sauces are:

1. La Guacamaya with lime juice. The Led Zeppelin of hot sauces.

2. Tabasco chipotle. Much less of the vinegary presence that many including myself don't care for. I've taken the Tabasco Tour on Avery Island twice now, each time buying a gallon of the stuff. Fantastically delicious, but it costs $10 to ship a gallon to Seattle!

3. Sriracha. The thinking person's ketchup.
posted by Tube at 4:49 PM on May 20, 2009 [2 favorites]

corn

Recipe for amazingly awesome corn:
-take a piece of tin foil big enough to seal an ear of corn in
-apply hot cock sauce and soy sauce liberally
-rub a piece of corn around in the sauce. get it all saucey. mmmm sauce.
-seal up the corn and sauce in the tin foil
-throw on a grill for about ten minutes
-open it up and enjoy tender juicy spicy delicious corn
posted by flaterik at 4:57 PM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

Spinifex23, they didn't have it the last time I looked, but Trader Joe's had a "house brand" that may have been sulfite-free. If you have one near you it might be worth checking.
posted by JoanArkham at 5:01 PM on May 20, 2009

Tabasco chipotle

Sweet Jesus, yes. I hate ordinary Tobasco, but that stuff is awesome.
posted by blenderfish at 5:09 PM on May 20, 2009

Cocksauce! That and miki noodles and fried tofu and whatever vegetables were in season at the market = how I survived undergrad.

Well, that and beer. But hey.
posted by Schlimmbesserung at 5:14 PM on May 20, 2009

My favorite flavor "mixer" with Sriracha is a good peanut butter (I like Nature's Own with flaxseed) - that flavor combination does wonders for grilled chicken breasts served with red quinoa with scallions.
posted by cinemafiend at 5:15 PM on May 20, 2009 [1 favorite]

- alias "cock sauce"

Absolutely. I'm surprised it took this long for someone to mention it.

Don't you people ever look at the tags?
posted by dersins at 5:20 PM on May 20, 2009

Oooh, I'm scared to see what else is going to get that tag...
posted by JoanArkham at 6:09 PM on May 20, 2009

Yay, something we can all agree on!
posted by electroboy at 1:54 PM on May 20 [+] [!]



Yay, something we can all agree on!

The list as it now stands
1) Mr. Rogers
2) Sriracha
posted by flaterik at 3:21 PM on May 20 [16 favorites +] [!]



You guys owe me a new keyboard...
posted by sfts2 at 6:22 PM on May 20, 2009

Yeah, this stuff rocks. I'm so glad to read about the origin of it; I've always been confused as to where it comes from and have heard different stories over the years.

The image I can't get out of my head now is sriracha sauce smothering some crispy eggrolls. LUNCHTIME, BITCHES!!!
posted by zardoz at 6:46 PM on May 20, 2009

I like the Sriracha pretty much, but my 15 year old daughter freakin loves it. I prefer the tanginess of Cholula, Tapatio, and the various Tabascos. We have wondered about its origins.

Don't forget California Pepperplant. Really good on eggs or machaca or a steak sandwich.
posted by Xoebe at 6:53 PM on May 20, 2009

I guess I'm a lone dissenter here. Srirachi tastes like spicy vinegar. Badly.

Melinda's Habanero Sauce, yummy. Lingham, extra yummy! Tabasco, in a pinch. But spare me the Srirachi.

S'ok, more for you guys to love. As long as there's something else to kick it up, I'm happy.
posted by IAmBroom at 7:01 PM on May 20, 2009

"Sriracha is awesome stuff, no doubt about it. But when you need the vinegar the answer is Tapatio. I'm not sure why Cholula is getting all the love here. The only thing Cholula has over Tapatio is the wooden cap."

You're right—it's totally confirmation bias, in that I think that Cholula is ubiquitous out here, when really, there's plenty of Tapatio too. But frankly, any place that's going to serve one of those should probably have a dedicated salsa bar anyway.
posted by klangklangston at 7:06 PM on May 20, 2009

I LOVE COCK SAUCE.
posted by loquacious at 9:04 PM on May 20, 2009

Ha! I call it cock sauce too, people who don't know what I'm talking about give me bizarre looks, I am so freakin glad that other people call it that too. However, now that I know the correct pronunciation I will have to call it by name!
posted by stormygrey at 11:06 PM on May 20, 2009

La Guacamaya with lime juice. The Led Zeppelin of hot sauces.

How dare you say La Guacamaya is overrated!
posted by ActingTheGoat at 11:12 PM on May 20, 2009

That shit is fucking delicious. Goes on EVERYTHING. Including -- no, especially -- cake.
posted by spiderskull at 1:54 AM on May 21, 2009

I love Sriracha on just about everything - and it makes ordinary pasta sauce into a great fra diavolo sauce too. Ditto on the remoulades, etc. Must try it in Hollandaise ...
posted by kcds at 4:30 AM on May 21, 2009

I used to love Sriracha, especially right after I was introduced to it back when thai food started getting really popular in Cincinnati, maybe early 90's. Then I discovered Huy Fong's other product "chilli garlic sauce" or whatever-it-is. Much better. Sriracha is a little too sweet for me, and has a rather strong bitter aftertaste. Their chilli garlic paste is way better. I buy it by the bucketsful.

Cholula is the go-to awesome sauce at all the little mexican joints out here, and it's good enough for me. Most of the authentic places do a good job of making their salsas spicy enough but when they don't, I reach for the Cholula.

Tabasco is just plain nasty, and has been so since I can remember.
posted by lonefrontranger at 6:13 AM on May 21, 2009

Hey, Tube! Thanks for mentioning the Tabasco chipotle ... it IS a great break from the vinegar-heavy Cajun-style hot sauce. (Ain't knocking the Cajun-styled version; I save that for red beans and rice)

We discovered Sri back in Ann Arbor where there is a little place just west of the campus that served bi-bim-bop ... and Life has never been the same.
posted by aldus_manutius at 6:21 AM on May 21, 2009

love love this stuff.
posted by captflamingo at 7:00 AM on May 21, 2009

It's glorious stuff. Fish balls, a little rice, and tuong ot toi is a nice, quick lunch.
posted by FormlessOne at 6:22 PM on May 21, 2009

Being on a submarine for 2 months at a stretch, I became familiar with all sorts of flavor-adding sauces. Sriracha, Melinda's, Buffalo, Frank's, Cholula, all the different varieties of Tabasco and so on. People would bring cases of their favorites along.

That sounds horrifying.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 11:35 PM on May 21, 2009