Everything You Know About Sriracha is a Lie.

Thank you so much for your support!

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There are several "official" origin stories of sriracha, one of the world's fastest growing food products. So we went to the town of Si Racha in central Thailand to dig for ourselves, and followed the threads until we unraveled an incredible story that took us back through two revolutions and across an ocean, as we searched for- and found- the real and incredible history of sriracha sauce.

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Special thanks to Adam Maji, our host/driver/fixer. Thanks also to all of our guests for sharing their own stories, and to Chris & Steph from Chinese Cooking Demystified for their dogged help in this journey.

0:00 - Introduction
2:45 - The "Chicken" Brand
4:49 - Si Racha Town
7:58 - Thailand's "Original" Sriracha
10:02 - Immigrant Stories
13:44 - Connecting the Dots
16:14 - The First Sriracha?
20:11 - Firsthand Evidence
23:33 - Conclusion

Restaurants featured:
Kasem Phochana
Mum Aroi
The Canton House
Da Shan
Hattakamamakarn
Suan Mali

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Video Credits:

The Real Reason Why Huy Fong Sriracha Doesn't Taste The Same Anymore - YouTube

Old Saigon before 1975

David Tran Flees Vietnam

Chinatown Los Angeles CSUN GEOG 496F Spring 1985 VH 100

8บ้านและสวน Make Series _ ศรีราชาพานิช

ชลบุรี บางละมุง ศรีราชา ในอดีต.

Hong Kong in 1930, the great Victoria harbour

Canton, China 1930

company profile Thaitheparos 60th

ASIA FILM ARCHIVE - 1900 - CHINA & JAPAN & KOREA & VIETNAM & INDONESIA & LAOS & MALAYSIA & SAMOA

A 0004 Old Bangkok Around 1931

[Baker]

I'm Thai and l love this episode, we lost the name of this sauce which is very sad. So I'm glad that you tell the world about the truth.

[tommypaget]

The real SriRacha sauce is made in Thailand, from an area called Sri Racha….about 90 KM southeast of Bangkok. I was eating this sauce since I was 4 years old, in 1972.

[tomwlt]

Growing up in Thailand, my parents sold the Sriracha Panich hot sauce by the case, where it was made not far from their store. I always knew that the Rooster brand hot sauce is not the same sauce I had growing up. The original sriracha sauce is sweeter—more rounded flavor you could say. My local Walmart has been selling the Panich brand. Another great video with lots of research.

[PaulS]

As a Thai, I think the reason why the city isn't celebrating the sauce like you said is because we're pretty much unaware of US Sriracha's fame up until a few years ago - and even then Thai people consider Huy Fong's taste to be so different that, even with the borrowed name, it's not the same sauce.

[jayzieziezie]

Finally I found the most accurate history of Sriracha sauce. You did an incredibly great research. I grew up in Sriracha. Still remember the former location of Sriracha Panich store just in front of Sriracha fresh market (near the clock tower).

[Siammedia]

No matter what happen to Sriracha source. The true still the fact that Sriracha was originated in Thailand.

[littiudia]

As a native to Chonburi province (Sriracha is a part of it), I grew up eating everything with Sriracha sauce including shumai, turnip paste or even fried rice. It was so popular in our family that other dipping sacues were virtually unknown to us.

[mr.cookie]

Chili sauce is eaten all over the world. There are regional differences and styles. This particular sauce has its origins in Sri Racha, Thailand. It in turn had its influence from Cantonese cooking, which the Chinese diaspora brought to Thailand when they migrated there. The owner of Hong Fuy Foods was a Vietnamese refugee who temporarily stayed in Sri Racha on his way to the US. He had it and liked it so replicated its flavors to produced the world renown rooster brand Sri Racha sauce. He did not say he invented it, but even named the sauce from town where he got the sauce from. Great story. It doesnt matter who invented it, but the Vietnamese refugee gave it to the rest of the world and paid his respects to the town of Sri Racha where he first had it.

[standard-carrier-wo-chan]

I love people like you who are extremely enthusiastic about wildly specific and obscure topics like this.

[agsags]

I’m really impressed by your work. You definitely deserve more attention.

[bornonnovember]

I was born, rise and now still live in Si Racha. The best Sriracha OG sauce that locals will recommend to you is the "Koh Loi" brand, the one with two chilies on a blue background label.

[fortniteismid]

Wildly underrated. This is a really cool documentary style video. One piece of constructive criticism is that at points in your commentary your mic pops.

[JazLiDaywalker]

As a Hongkonger with a Thai-Chinese wife, this video made us very proud of our intertwined heritage.
A sincere thank you, you do the justice long due to this famous sauce!

[apichaipunnahitananda]

No matter where the origin of the sauce itself could be, Sri-racha is still the only one speific place in the world and the world knows it now. Thanks for your dedication persuing Sriracha sauce history. 👍🤟

[simonk]

I live in thailand and this is probable the most in depth video about the history of Sri Racha

[thanaang]

This is really the original of Siracha sauce that most of the world do not know.

[mickbotcast]

The one and only for Thai fried omelets,
everything else is just not it compares to Sriracha.
it turns any plain omelets into a 10/10 breakfast.

[fletchoid]

In 2022 there was a jalapeno crop failure due to drought conditions. This caused Huy Fong Foods to pause production of Sriracha for a time. As soon as news of this got out, people here in Canada started buying and hoarding Sriracha. I remember buying the ONLY bottle on a grocery store shelf, and feeling the relief that only an addict can understand. I love pretty much all variations of this sauce. Without it, life is just bland.

[bodyno]

When you mentioned "chili sauce with pickled garlic and vinegar" everything instantly connected in my head, that's the Cantonese sauce I knew and love!
Chili, garlic, salt and vinegar is the golden quartet, a flavor profile that tune your appetite straight to the eleven, just think about kimchi and Tabasco.

[benpuppanont]

Actually, in Thailand we did not just call it "Sri Racha Sauce" but "Sri Racha Chili Sauce" (ซอสพริกศรีราชา - sauce prik Sri Racha) which refer to a recipe originating "Sri Racha Panich Brand" I don't know about other hot sauce or chili sauce out there that claim their "Sri Racha Sauce" is authentic but I believe that authentic "Sri Racha Sauce" is named after the store called "Sri Racha Panich" (Panich means Trade, Business or Commerce) not a Sri Racha town but the brand name. Just like many homemade versions of "Nutella" they might call their a "Nutella" too.

What I'm going to say is that "Sri Racha" is not a type of sauce. But it's the brand of the aforementioned chili sauce. which may have other similar recipe that older than this one that were cooked at home or sold widly at that time but no brand is as famous and popular as Sri Racha Panich.