Sriracha sauce, also known as rooster sauce, has been around for less than a hundred years.
Created by a woman named Thanom Chakkapak, Sriracha sauce originated in Si Racha, Thailand, during the 1930’s. The original sauce stayed in Si Racha, yet its influence traveled all the way from Thailand to the United States through a man named David Tran. Tran immigrated to Los Angeles from Vietnam in the 1980’s. Tran didn’t like the sauces that were available in LA, so he decided to make his own sauce. He started his own company, Huy Fong Foods, creating his own version of sriracha sauce, making it as it is today.
Sriracha has expanded beyond the sauce it once was. It’s not longer used in the traditional way, going in dishes that people would never had thought tasted right. Products celebrating its existence range from water bottles, clothing and even keychains. Sriracha has come a long way from where it started, striking the hearts of many in different ways. Take a look at students’ opinions on sriracha, from love to hate.
Fiery
If sophomore Madi Anderson Au could describe Sriracha, “spicy fiery goodness,” would be it. She recalled seeing a bottle, filled with a reddish sauce. Her mother suggested putting the sriracha sauce in her meal.
“I poured in a lot and my mom is going, ‘Stop stop that’s too much!’ [I] thought it was perfect,” Anderson Au said.
Now whenever Anderson Au hears the word sriracha, she runs to express how much she loves sriracha.
Delicious
Junior Richa Israni doesn’t recall the first time she had Sriracha, but she decided it was “delicious.” Sriracha on pizza isn’t the first combination you’d think of out of the blue; the pizza place, MOD, had Sriracha sauce.
“I got it and [thought] ‘Wow, this is actually really good!’ Israni said.
It may sound weird to others, but for Israni it was the start of something interesting. She continues to do it even now, refusing to let others’ opinions get in the way of what she truly likes.
Revolting
To sophomore Nina Biondi, the taste of sriracha is not appealing; it feels foreign in her mouth.The first time Biondi had sriracha sauce was in seventh grade.
“We were eating tacos and he said that it would taste really good on them,” Biondi said. “[I] hated it so much.”
Biondi feels as though sriracha is only aimed towards people who enjoy spicy food, which is why sriracha is at the bottom for her, due to her hate of spices.
