Sriracha

Ah that lovely little chili sauce of Thai origin named Sriracha. With a name few western born people can even pronounce, it certainly has become an iconic sauce. With other names (such as rooster sauce, or the more aptly named 'cock sauce' by some) most people can probably recognize Sriracha in some shape form or name. The most iconic of all Sriracha being the green capped, glowing red sauce, with a rooster dead set on the front of the bottle. Now anyone who's done any research on Sriracha, should know, that this most iconic sauce, is actually a fraud. Branding itself as Sriracha, and tasting very little like the actual stuff. Having heard this several times, and being involved in a long standing love affair with Sriracha, I naturally lept at the opportunity to get my hands on a couple bottles of Sriracha bought straight in a Thai market. I recently received said bottles, and thought a proper taste assesment was in order.

First up is the green capped, California manufactured Rooster brand.


Very spicy, and if you can still taste, sour. A over all nice flavor.

Second brand, who the hell knows (all in Thai).


This is a vastly different tasting sauce. Its spicy, slightly sweet, with hints of sour. This is quite a nice sauce.

Lastly, we have Sriraja Panich. This is the brand that boasts the title of being the original Sriracha.


Without a doubt, of the 3, this holds the most complex flavor. Its spicy, sweet, salty, sour, all the flavours I come to expect from a proper Thai meal. This sauce is wonderful tasting in all its complexity.

Conclusion? Well I won't be stopping my purchasing of the fraudulent Sriracha anytime soon, as I've come to quite enjoy this sauce. However I don't think it should be referred to as Sriracha, as comparing the 2, they hold very little similarities. I look forward to my next trip to an Asian supermarket to see if they hold this incredible and complex sauce, so I can keep it too, as a permanent addition to my refrigerator. As for the middle sauce, I may not know what it is, but it too is quite tasty, I assume its a Sriracha, on the basis it holds much more in common to the Panich, then the Rooster sauce.