Thailand Is 'Hot' Over American Sriracha Sauce

Thailand Is 'Hot' Over American Sriracha Sauce

An Asian chili¹ sauce is winning over taste buds all over the United States.

Sriracha sauce now flavors many American-made products -- from popcorn² to candy to beer. There are cookbooks explaining how to use the popular hot sauce.You can buy clothing decorated with the famous Sriracha rooster. Songs have been written about this hot sauce.

There is even a 2013 it documentary film, Sriracha, about the history of the spicy³ condiment⁴.

Sales of Sriracha are greater than $80 million each year. This success has made Sriracha, named after a city on Thailand’s coast, a household name in America. The popularity of Sriracha sauce is even more amazing considering the company that makes the sauce has never advertised.

The man who created Sriracha sauce is David Tran. He is an ethnic⁵ Chinese from Vietnam who immigrated⁶ to California. His sauce is made with red jalape?o peppers grown only on a farm in Southern California.

Tran's Sriracha sauce is hot on the tail of, meaning right behind, America's traditional best-selling spicy sauce, Tabasco. Tabasco has been sold for nearly 150 years. It is a Cajun-style pepper sauce that has more vinegar and is spicier⁷ than Tran's Sriracha sauce.

The hotness or spiciness⁸ of a sauce can be measured with something called the Scoville scale. The American Chemical Society tests and rates hot peppers. Tabasco is not only hotter but also five times more expensive than Tran’s Sriracha sauce.

The Louisiana-based company that makes Tabasco, is now making its own "Premium⁹ Sriracha Sauce."

In fact, large and small companies in the U.S. are using the “Sriracha” name on their own sauces. When David Tran made the sauce, he did not copyright the Sriracha name.

David Tran was a major in the South Vietnamese army. He created his first hot sauce in 1975. That year his country fell to the Communist North. Five years later, he began hand-bottling his new sauce for restaurants in the Chinatown area of Los Angeles, California.

“Sriracha” is a variation of the spelling of the Thai town of Si Racha. It is a seaside community on the east coast of the Gulf¹⁰ of Thailand and it is famous for its sauce.

Thai people can be confused and dissatisfied when they learn that a sauce with the name "Sriracha" is made 13,000 kilometers away in the United States.

When he saw the American sauce in the red bottle with a white rooster on it, one government officer in the city of Si Racha said, “What do you mean it's from America? Its name is Sriracha.”

A Thai food writer in Thailand agreed. She said, "because of the name it's obvious that it should be from Thailand.”

A VOA correspondent brought the American Sriracha sauce to a food market in Si Racha. Buyers and sellers there tasted the condiment, compared it to their local sauce and shared their opinions.

One woman who sells hot sauces said the American sauce is much “saltier and spicier” than the Thai sauce which is more “sweet and sour.” She adds, however, that Si Racha sauce has to be produced in Si Racha.

Her adult daughter compared the Californian sauce to ketchup¹¹, a popular American condiment made from tomatoes, vinegar and spices. She adds that the Californian sauce is a better match for the meat dishes preferred by foreigners, such as steaks. Thais, she explained, prefer a thinner sauce to eat with their dry noodle dishes.

"Both are good," she adds, but the American kind is "too hot."

But there is one thing food-loving people in the Thai city of Si Racha agree on -- the foreign sauce widely known among Americans as "the rooster sauce" is making its own way in the food world.

Oh yeah, Huy Fong Sriracha, oh yes siree. It's made in America, land of the free. Though it might look peculiar¹², don't let the bottle fool ya (you). It's Huy Fong the American garlic chili pepper sauce."

Is Sriracha sauce a popular condiment where you live? What is the most popular condiment? Let us know in the Comments Section.

Words and Their Stories

taste bud – n. one of many small spots on your tongue that give you the ability to taste things

flavor –v. to give or add taste to a food

condiment – n. something (such as salt, mustard, or ketchup) that is added to food to give it more flavor

documentary – n. a movie or television program that tells the facts about actual people and events

household name – n. a person or thing whose name is very well-known

vinegar – n. a sour liquid that is used to flavor or preserve foods or to clean things

spicy (spicier) – adj. of food : flavored with or containing strong spices and especially ones that cause a burning feeling in your mouth

variation – n. something that is similar to something else but different in some way

confused – adj. being perplexed¹³ or disconcerted <the confused students>

dissatisfied – adj. not happy or pleased

sour – adj. of food : having an acid taste that is like the taste of a lemon

1 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

2 popcorn   

n.爆米花

参考例句：

• I like to eat popcorn when I am watching TV play at home.当我在家观看电视剧时，喜欢吃爆米花。
• He still stood behind his cash register stuffing his mouth with popcorn.他仍站在收银机后，嘴里塞满了爆米花。

3 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

4 condiment   

n.调味品

参考例句：

• It has long been a precious condiment.它一直都是一种珍贵的调味料。
• Fish sauce is a traditional fermented condiment in coastal areas.鱼露是沿海地区的传统发酵调味品。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 immigrated   

v.移入( immigrate的过去式和过去分词 )；移民

参考例句：

• He immigrated from Ulster in 1848. 他1848年从阿尔斯特移民到这里。 来自辞典例句
• Many Pakistanis have immigrated to Britain. 许多巴基斯坦人移居到了英国。 来自辞典例句

7 spicier   

adj.用香料调味的( spicy的比较级 )；有香料味的；有刺激性的；（故事、新闻等） 刺激的

参考例句：

• She added some green chili peppers to her cheese dip to make spicier. 她在起司沾酱中加了一些青辣椒让它辛辣一点。 来自互联网

8 spiciness   

n.香馥，富于香料；香味

参考例句：

• For that extra spiciness, add powdered nutmeg to taste. 至于要得到那种额外的香味，酌量加入肉豆蔻粉。 来自互联网
• Aside from a graph a thermometer will be used to show spiciness. 除了文字标记以外，还将用温度表图像形象地表达辣度。 来自互联网

9 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

10 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

11 ketchup   

n.蕃茄酱，蕃茄沙司

参考例句：

• There's a spot of ketchup on the tablecloth.桌布上有一点番茄酱的渍斑。
• Could I have some ketchup and napkins,please?请给我一些番茄酱和纸手巾？

12 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

13 perplexed   

adj.不知所措的

参考例句：

• The farmer felt the cow,went away,returned,sorely perplexed,always afraid of being cheated.那农民摸摸那头牛，走了又回来，犹豫不决，总怕上当受骗。
• The child was perplexed by the intricate plot of the story.这孩子被那头绪纷繁的故事弄得迷惑不解。