Gothamist: In the Market: "The Rooster" Chili Garlic Sauce

propboy

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 12:47:25 -0500

I thought that stuff was called "Hot Cock" sauce.... Or maybe my friends are just weird.

Hugh Jardohn

Wed, 19 Oct 2005 09:03:12 -0500

"...new condiment movement"? We've been using this type of sauce since 67.

Nick

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 22:34:34 -0500

I used to eat Sriracha all the time at Vietnamese resturants when I lived in the San Jose, CA area. (It has the largest Vietnamese population in the world outside of Vietnam.) I also always kept a bottle in my fridge. I searched all over for it when I moved to Westchester a few years ago. Finally tracked in down at an Asian market in Scarsdale. Now I can get it around the corner. It is good to be in Brooklyn!

n

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 22:27:38 -0500

it's VIETNAMESE... anything spicy and asian Must be THAI...enjoy foolios http://www.huyfong.com/no_frames/company.htm and for the ignorant http://www.justicematters.com/CDPage.asp?CD=CD&ProductID=94&label=AIR&ArtistID=85

I Saw Them First

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 17:54:24 -0500

I used to go see Sriracha when they could only book these tiny East Village dives, way before you hipsters turned Tompkins Square Park into Disneyland transplanted to Eau Claire Wisconsin. They were really raw back then, the garlic had more bite. Now they're playing stadiums and Huy Fong's having an affair with Chris Martin; it's just sad is all. You want my advice? Buy an old bootleg to slather on your eggs, or stick to your sold-out Tabasco sauce, but stay away from Sriracha and get out of my Village.

critterlady

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 17:26:03 -0500

using this stuff for years to spice up shrimp dishes, soups, and eggs...also use in steamed noodle soup - it's like zero calories!

srirachaguy

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 17:18:30 -0500

Put it in a hamburger. MMMMM!

meximese

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:11:32 -0500

Sriracha and the Chili-Garlic Sauce are really quite different. I think I generally prefer Sriracha, if not at least for it's easy-to-use spout. Simple & Tasty #1: Sliced bread, butter & Sriracha Simple & Tasty #2: Popcorn, butter & Sriracha (toss)

mike

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 16:00:11 -0500

the post says that what is new is the fact that it is now popular. not that the product is new.

Jack

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:47:56 -0500

This is such old news it's not funny. It was 'new' back in 1995. And it's great. And it's cheap if you don't buy it in the foodie aisles. And for what it's worth even Pearl River Mart has been selling it for decades.

Devlyn

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:29:35 -0500

Kath - I also call it "cock sauce", and have been getting those around me to call it that, as well. ^_^ I use it on chips (just plain, thank you, with a side of water) and I also add it to my chicken noodle/rice soup when I'm sick to burn the baddies out of me. I don't live in NY, but I get mine at the Asian food store (where I purchase rice) for $1.50 a bottle.

rev pays

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:20:03 -0500

I'm not a spicy hot sauce guy but when I was living paycheck to paycheck, I stocked up on frying chickens and mixed siracha and oyster sauce as a marinade to coat the chicken in and out. Roasted it standing on a spanek roaster. Just enough hotness for flavor and a nice brown crisp skin from the oyster sauce mix.

joe

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:08:02 -0500

great MD, glad you've been eating it for 30 years. here's a virtual sriracha medal for you, in honor of your astute knowledge and experience with enjoying a condiment. we are all condiment novices in your presence. all hail MD, king of sriracha!

dana

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 15:00:53 -0500

urbanblitz, they sell Cafe du Monde in Chinatown for Vietnamese coffee (which is really good if you haven't tried it, BTW).

MD

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:56:33 -0500

This is silly. From my infancy up to my fifth birthday, I ONLY ate a mix of Siracha sauce, goat's milk, and fresh soybeans (and I'm now in my late 40's). Methods of using this sauce have been inscribed on scrolls and passed down for generations through my family ...NOW you poseurs decide to write about it? Thanks for the news flash, pal. Also, unless small Thai children are running up to you and laying bottles of this stuff at your feet as you walk through their neighborhood, you, my friend, are overpaying.

craig

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:47:53 -0500

where can I get this stuff in midtown east? I live in murray hill and work in the east 50's. Any help anyone? Thanks

MooseAndSquirrel

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:33:19 -0500

Yum -- Sriracha rocks! Hot enough that you know it's there, not so hot that you can't taste your food any more, it's the best.

Phat Daddy

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:28:52 -0500

You're just now discovering this? The little podunk town of Greensboro, NC has been swimming in this stuff for years. Of course, we have an enourmous Vietnamese population in GSO, but come on...you fancypants NYCers should have been all over this years ago. And if you're buying this for over $2.00 then you're spending way too much.

Ajit

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:26:38 -0500

How cool that Gothamist has a post that mentions my favorite sauce! I've been in love with Si Racha ever since I lived in Thailand 10 years back. My roommate and I have about 4 huge bottles of the stuff in the pantry. Our place in Brooklyn is like a SiRacha crackden.

bklynd

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:02:42 -0500

I remember a particularly nice episode of Ming Tsai's show where he went to his local market and bought an armful of different jars of sambal, basically encouraging his audience to just try anything with chilis and garlic in it. (Then he proceded to make his own, I think.) My current jar is not the rooster brand. But, my bottle of fish sauce has the "squid boy" on the front.

jer

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:01:35 -0500

I've been using it for years. My guacamole recipe is avocado, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice, and a heaping tablespoon of the chili garlic sauce. Can't beat it. And 4.99 is WAY too expensive. 1.99 at the most people.

Brightliner

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:01:21 -0500

New ketchup? Nah. It can be the new salsa. It's not as hot as I like, though. A few dashes of really superhot sauces added to the jar really helps.

sp

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 14:00:22 -0500

I prefer the Sriracha. Ive been eating it for about 20 years now, as said above, its excellent on tortilla chips, except I prefer it with cream cheese on the chip instead of salsa or guac. Its pretty much good on anything tho when youre in need of some kick.

gary

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:51:30 -0500

this is the best sauce ever! However its more like $1.30-$2 in chinatown Hurry we should all invest in it, it can be the new ketchup... :)

Kath Hansen

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:49:46 -0500

We call it Cock Sauce in our house...I know, we're idiots.

jaykayess

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:49:11 -0500

I thought I was a freak for mixing this w/ ketchup and eating it on my fries, but the pasta sauce suggestion is way freakier. Also it is so so good to add a heaping tablespoon of this stuff to your oil before you fry chicken or pork.

jack rico

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:41:46 -0500

yeah, but how white exactly?

urbanblitz

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:41:29 -0500

That stuff rocks. I like to put it in my pasta sauce for an extra kick. It's crazy what they sell in Chinatown supermarkets. Dynasty Market has Cafe Du Monde. Beats me.

eric

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:38:55 -0500

not anymore, tien. i've quit my hot sauce stealing ways. but there's not a day that goes by that i don't regret what i've done. i think back and i see a sad, stupid kid. i want to talk to him. want to talk some sense into him. tell him not to do the things i've done. but i can't. this guy's a collector.

Johnie

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:31:28 -0500

My GF loves it. She uses it on everything. She's also in love with the weirdest asian food like tripe and thousand year eggs even more so than I am. [Yes, she's white]

Jen W

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:27:48 -0500

I love me some Sriracha. I like it with French fries, as well as any Thai/Vietnamese/sometimes Chinese food I can think of to dip with.

eric

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:27:26 -0500

yes i am tien.

Jake of 8bitjoystick.com

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:15:17 -0500

Siracha Hot Chili Sauce IS the condiment of the future! http://www.8bitjoystick.com/archives/jake_review_siracha_hot_chili_sauce_the_condiment_of_the_future.php

Bao

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:11:38 -0500

This stuff is like ketchup and mustard to Vietnamese people. You know you are in a authentic Vietnamese restaurant if they have this on the table. My parent's fridge always had 2 bottles of this stuff ready for use. My dad is a nut and sometimes just drinks it.

scazza

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:10:11 -0500

This is also called sambal. There is an article about Huy Fong Foods in the October issue of Saveur (page 22). The rooster represents the proprietor's astrological sign and they are considered the perfectionists of the Chinese zidiac. The article also has a great list of 12 great things to do with siracha.

joe

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 13:07:36 -0500

the whole thing about thai or vietnamese was confusing to me because thailand is really the origin of sriracha, but the article in the link from hashashin clarifies: "Because the Vietnamese name is so prominent on the Huy Fong label, most Western fans assume it originated there. Actually, this particular style of lightly sweetened chile-garlic sauce is supposed to have been created in the seacoast town of Sriracha (sometimes anglicized as Si Racha), in southern Thailand. David insists, however, that he never thought of Sriracha sauce as a Thai product. It is ubiquitous in Vietnam and in Vietnamese communities the world over, he says, reinvented in each case from the ingredients at hand. "It's just like pizza," William suggests. "American pizza is not exactly like the pizza in Italy. They are basically the same idea, circles of dough with toppings, but the details are different."

Gary

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:55:57 -0500

Yes, this stuff is AMAZING!! And VERY SPICY so be warned. This Vietnamese condiment can be added to tons of stuff, though for that extra kick in my salsa I add a teaspoon. AGAIN, VERY HOT!! And the Sriracha is great as well. Go to Chinatown to get it; a much better deal.

Justin

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:50:39 -0500

Don't be fooled because there is another brand with almost the exact same logo, but a Duck. Biters.

p

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:47:03 -0500

It's Vietnamese, not Thai. But still delicious.

Jaymes

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:46:39 -0500

Have the Sriracha with chips and guacamole. You'll thank me.

Jaymes

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:45:38 -0500

Have the Sriracha with chips and guacamole. You'll thank me.

hashashin

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:45:37 -0500

Definitely not new, but definitely good and amazing how far and wide you find it--the company's staff is less than 50 people. http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Island/3102/huyfong.htm

Ace

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:45:05 -0500

I add their non-garlic chilli sauce to my wings sauce. Good suff.

tien

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:40:51 -0500

there's this other stuff out there that has a different consistency that is really good too. eric is sooo hard core.

p/o

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:38:37 -0500

love it!!

Eric

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:35:13 -0500

i was hooked on this stuff before you were even a glimmer in your daddy's eye. remember eddie's on waverly? they used to have a bottle on each table. and yes, i stole one.

hr

Tue, 18 Oct 2005 12:30:38 -0500

I love how my fancy asian-operated 'gourmet' deli sells it for $4.99 a jar, while it can be had in chinatown for $1.19.