Three Alternative Ways to Get Your Sriracha Fix

If you followed last week's Sriracha saga, you may or may not have spent some time hoarding Huy Fong Foods's famous Sriracha sauce. Because, as you might expect with a sauce that has inspired everything from fashion accessories to a food festival, the threat of the Rooster flying the coop, even temporarily, set off all sorts of doomsday predictions (A Sriracha apocalypse! A Sriracha black market!). That's all a bit of an exaggeration, of course; after all, Huy Fong isn't the only manufacturer of Sriracha sauce. In fact, wander down the aisle of almost any Thai market in Thaitown, and you'll find shelves full of other brands of Sriracha, many imported from Thailand, and some that may or may not be even better than the Rooster sauce. We sniffed out a few other sauces you may want to try.

Homemade Sriracha sauce; Credit: T. Nguyen

3. Homemade Sriracha

If, after the apocalypse, you simply don't have enough cigarettes to buy yourself a bottle of decent hot sauce, you can actually make yourself your own Sriracha sauce with little more than red chilies, garlic, salt and vinegar. Recipes abound; try one from Andrea Nguyen.

Grand Mountain Sriracha sauce; Credit: T. Nguyen

2. Grand Mountain Sriracha

Imported from Thailand, Grand Mountain's Sriracha sauce comes in “medium” and “strong” flavors, though if you want the heat, go for the Strong flavor: The medium level of spice is fairly mild. The sauce is a bright orange-red to Huy Fong's ketchup color; it's also thinner and smoother than the Rooster sauce. It's slightly sweet, but not overly so; it'd make for a nice dipping sauce or as a subtle complement to your eggs or bowl of rice. We found this bottle at Bangluck Market, right next to Sanamluang on Hollywood Boulevard in Thaitown; if you don't find it there, look for it at LAX-C in Chinatown.

Shark Sriracha sauce; Credit: T. Nguyen

1. Shark Sriracha

Like Grand Mountain, Shark is a Thai import that you can find at Bangluck Market; it also comes in both “medium” and “strong” flavors. Unlike Grand Mountain, though, even the medium version of Shark's sauce packs a punch. But it's the sort of punch that keeps you awake and engaged in the fight rather than knocking you out completely: While the Rooster sauce often obliterates a dish with its overpowering vinegar and dry heat, Shark's sauce maintains a nice balance of ingredients (chili, water, sugar, garlic, salt and vinegar; in case you're curious about proportions, the label also gives the exact percentages of each ingredient in the sauce). We do love Huy Fong's sauce, but in our kitchen, it's the Shark that rules the roost.

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