Sriracha Movie Trailer: The First Look!

Super excited to be part of this Sriracha documentary! The wizardly man behind it, Griffin Hammond, is here in LA filming the Huy Fong Foods chile harvest at Underwood Family Farms! In between that, visiting the factory, and crashing chez moi, he made a trailer for his film (that CBS News might air!) and oh look… there I am!! (I’m the guy in the straw hat!)

Can’t wait to see the whole movie! Griffin’s really done his homework and will be presenting the complete Sriracha story! We even went to Si Racha, Thailand to learn more about its history!

Forever Sriracha! 

Griffin Hammond, director of the upcoming Sriracha documentary, created this hypnotizing animated GIF from his footage of the bottling line at the Huy Fong Foods factory in Rosemead, CA.

Hammond reports: “Huy Fong Foods produces 3,000 bottles of Sriracha per hour, 24 hours a day, 6 days a week. That’s at least 70,000 born each day. And over 20,000,000 in a year.”

Can that machine divert the flow straight to my kitchen?

Sriracha Food Fight: Trader Joe’s vs. Huy Fong Foods 

Tien Nguyen at the LA Weekly offers this helpful Venn Diagram comparing Trader Joe’s Sriracha—one of their newest private-label creations—with the almighty rooster sauce we all know and love from Huy Fong Foods.

Nguyen explains:

“Trader Joe’s version is tasty, though it smacks of garlic first and chilies second. Indeed, the heat level here is fairly tame; it was quite a bit easier to down a few spoonfuls of this than to take in a similar amount of Huy Fong’s sauce. Higher up on the Scoville scale, the Rooster sauce has has a dry heat and a sharp, appealing tang that lingers.”

While the folks at the Weekly ultimately chose Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha as their favorite, I have to say that I love them both. I know, I know… I’m a fence-sitter, but here’s why. Huy Fong Foods’ version is incredible. I fell in love with it 15 years ago and I still love it today. When I started working on The Sriracha Cookbook and The Veggie-Lover’s Sriracha Cookbook, I began learning about the Thai versions of Sriracha and how different they were from our homegrown American interpretation. Sweeter, a little more focus on the garlic than the peppers, and a thinner consistency, almost like a dipping sauce rather than a squirting condiment. (Shark Brand and Sriraja Panich are highly recommended for those looking to try some of the authentic Thai Sriracha sauces.) Annnnyway, back to Trader Joe’s. Why do I love it? Because it’s like the best of both worlds! It’s got some of the punch of Huy Fong Foods with some of the aforementioned characteristics of its original Thai counterparts.

For me, I’ll be keeping ‘em all stocked in my cupboard… it’s always fun to play “Sriracha Sommelier” when friends come over for dinner.

David Tran, creator of Huy Fong Foods Sriracha.

The man behind the almighty rooster sauce stands in front of what I wish was my pantry. Businessweek writer Caleb Hannan got a rare glimpse into the story of Huy Fong Foods and the family behind it, while examining the cult status that surrounds their Sriracha. (And hey, look at that! I’m even quoted in the article!)

Their success continues because of an unrelenting focus on quality and word of mouth alone. Huy Fong Foods has never advertised, has no official Facebook page or Twitter account, and their website hasn’t been updated since May 2004.

ALL HAIL DAVID TRAN.

Read on for a fascinating look behind the curtain:
Sriracha Hot Sauce Catches Fire, Yet ‘There’s Only One Rooster’ - via Bloomberg Businessweek

[Photograph by Nathanael Turner / Businessweek]