Rooster Sauce. Sriracha. Hot cock sauce. Call it what you want, but this stuff is good and a staple in any kitchen. The New York Times posted an article on Huy Fong's Tuong Ot chili sauce today. The white rooster and green topped bottles are ubiquitous in the Vietnamese community but I had no idea it had a big cult following. Growing up, everytime my family went out to eat Pho, I'd take it upon myself to squirt Hoisin Sauce into the little dipping bowls and draw some sort of childish design on top with the Sriracha bottle. Smiley faces and hearts were really popular with me. Ahhhh, memories...
On my last trip to Tokyo, my boyfriend and I went on a 6 day search for authentic Sriracha sauce. I stopped by every grocery store I could find and even checked out the few Pho shops in the city: nothing. We finally managed to find some sort of Thai knockoff (I think there's a flying duck on the front instead of a rooster) and it tastes pretty much the same as the original but of course, I was still disappointed not to find the real stuff. The Times article mentions another knock-off that features a unicorn on the bottle...that's kind of awesome.
In any case, everyone has their favorite Sriracha recipe. My rooomate in college ate spam and sriracha. Boyfriend likes it with soba noodles. I like it on my eggs. Anyone else have a crazy combo you'd like to share?
I like to put some in my pasta sauce (usually red sauces, but I've tried it in cream sauce too). Adds the little *kick* that my korean taste buds need!
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