Thursday, September 5, 2013

Sriracha

Or as I like to call it, "the new ketchup". Seriously, this stuff is good on everything. I distinctly remember one meal time at college where a group of my friends and I followed a group of Indonesian kids into the grub spot. At the college I attended you had to scan your I.D. card in order to get into the cafeteria, and at each entrance to the cafeteria there were workers stationed to confiscate any outside food or drink, as well as try
I Do I Do I Do-oooo!
to bring some order to the zombie-like droves of college students cycling in and out of the building. One of the Indonesian kids was trying to sneak in a bottle of Sriracha, when he caught the attendants eye. In a panic he turned away from the approaching attendant, quickly crammed the whole bottle of Hot Sauce down the front of his pants, before finally pulling his sweatshirt down over the bottle. As it turns out, she wasn't after him after all, and he made it into the Four Winds with his green capped bottle of hot sauce.Victory was his and the prize was sweet sweet Sriracha; however, I doubt his friends were to keen on handling the bottle after that.
A recent hot sauce craving has rekindled my love for all things spicy/hot/peppery and while chowing down on some fried rice and Sriracha, I began to do a little research on the history of the popular clear bottle that is stamped with a rooster.

The NYTimes did a fantastic article on the history of Sriracha that can be found in the link below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/dining/20united.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Without a doubt Sriracha has a cult following that cannot be stopped. The popularity of the hot sauce has spawned everything from Halloween costumes to documentaries, books, and tattoos. All I can say is this, I love Sriracha! HIYa!