Some like it hot, and some like it even hotter, and that's when you reach for the sriracha. More informally known as “rooster sauce,” this ubiquitous Asian hot sauce is the sine qua non of condiments. As beloved among aficionados as Tabasco, Tapatio and Texas Pete are, sriracha has a cult all its own. One man preaching the gospel is Randy Clemens, author of The Sriracha Cookbook, a just-published directory of recipes exploring sriracha's Thai origins and its modern-day applications. Clemens explains it all in “Sriracha: The Story Behind the Addictively Spicy Rooster Sauce,” a Central Library lecture presented by the Culinary Historians of California, who may or may not want to admit that it's also commonly referred to as “hot cock.”

Sat., Feb. 12, 10:30 a.m., 2011

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