\n<\/p>\n
Much of the hysteria surrounding the shortage could be attributed to Huy Fong; there were plenty of other brands \u2014\u00a0albeit lesser known \u2014 out there that have been steadily churning out the sweet, hot, vinegary sauce.<\/p>\n
I must admit, the Huy Fong bottles were also my gateway into sriracha, and I\u2019ve been curious about how the newer-to-me sauces would fare in pho and on wings, spring rolls, pizza, salad, pasta \u2026 you see where I\u2019m going here. So I decided to sample all the bottles I could get my hands on (only readily available in grocery stores, though there are tons of online-available options out there I\u2019m excited to track down eventually). Much like the best jarred tomato sauces<\/a>, each sriracha uses many of the same ingredients (chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, salt, and sugar), yet yields such distinct results.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In total, four of the seven were immediately on my \u201cbuy again\u201d list, and I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll guess who snagged the top spot either.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n First things first: I was not expecting such a close race between the two top spots, or that Huy Fong wouldn\u2019t run away with the \u201cW.\u201d However, Ox Brand is truly the one I keep coming back to. (I ordered Thai after my taste test, and it was the bottle I grabbed immediately for my pad see ew.)<\/p>\n When it came to my top pick (and the close runner-up, as you\u2019ll find), it had the distinct flavors of sriracha, but dialed up way higher in a couple different directions. In Ox Brand\u2019s case, that meant a deeper, more savory flavor that seemed, to me, to have a bit more punch of pickled garlic. It surprised me and gave me a deeper umami that I didn\u2019t know I needed.<\/p>\n Buy<\/strong>: Ox Brand Sriracha Sauce<\/a>, $5.99 for 29.25 ounces at Kroger<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Like I said, it was a near tie between Ox Brand and Ninja Squirrel; I went back and forth with my taste test until my tongue asked me to please, please maybe slooooow down. While the Ox Brand dials up the garlic, the Ninja Squirrel delivers a vinegary kick of heat that reminded me of my early sriracha-eating days, when I could only handle dipping the tines of my fork in ever so gingerly.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s also not that \u201chot for the sake of being hot\u201d variety of spice either, there\u2019s plenty of depth courtesy of two peppers, red jalape\u00f1os, and red chilies. For the spice fiends, this will likely be your new favorite sriracha.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The rumor on the street is that the rereleased Huy Fong Sriracha Sauce\u2019s formula has been tweaked, and many fans can notice it. Personally, I didn\u2019t notice that<\/em> much of a change (though any taste discrepancy is likely due to the change in its pepper supplier<\/a>). All things considered, Huy Fong will always have a bright red, subtly burn-y nostalgic place in my heart because of just how balanced it is.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s just spicy, vinegary, and garlicky enough and remains the can-do-it-all sauce to this day. It\u2019s the sauce I think any sriracha-lover or new-to-sriracha folks should always have on hand, in addition to these other bottles. It makes me happy when I see it on the countertop of my go-to restaurant.<\/p>\n Spicy Lil\u2019 Disclaimer: <\/em>Underwood Ranch<\/em><\/a>, the original suppliers of Huy Fong\u2019s peppers, now make sriracha. Sadly, I could not track it down near me, but I\u2019ve heard it\u2019s worth grabbing a bottle.<\/em> To steal a phrase from the great poet, Beyonc\u00e9, I got hot sauce in my bag. The hot sauce in question? This pint-size little dream of a sriracha from Yellowbird. It\u2019s the baby bear of bottles \u2014 the just-right size to keep in my bag in case of spice-related emergencies. Swapping in syrupy sweet blue agave nectar instead of sugar, the Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha Sauce was the crowned wild card of my taste test.<\/p>\n Slightly sweeter than the rest of the bunch, this sriracha sauce was so good it had me scheming<\/em> my next move: Slick onto sticky-sweet wings? Add to salad dressings, crispy fish tacos<\/a>, and maybe a marinade or yogurt dip<\/a>? Yes. It\u2019s also slowly but surely passing one of my main taste-test markers: Do I want to cook things just because I think it can be a vehicle for Yellowbird? You know it. I tasted seven bottles blind \u2014 each sauce served straight up off a spoon (with a yogurt chaser, naturally). I narrowed them down one by one, separating the \u201cabsolutely nots<\/em>\u201d from the \u201coooh, interestings<\/em>\u201d until I landed on the four I\u2019d absolutely rebuy, no hesitation. I evaluated each sriracha based on three criteria:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Did your favorite sriracha make the list? Tell us about it in the comments below.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBest Sriracha Sauce: Ox Brand Sriracha Sauce<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Runner Up: Ninja Squirrel Sriracha Sauce<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Honorable Mention: Huy Fong Sriracha Sauce<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Buy<\/strong>: Huy Fong Sriracha Sauce<\/a>, $4.79 for 28 ounces at Target<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWild Card: Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha Sauce<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Buy<\/strong>: Yellowbird Blue Agave Sriracha Sauce<\/a>, $3.79 for 6.7 ounces at Walmart<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHow I Tested the Sriracha<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n