5 ms·

I don’t understand the sriracha “thing” in North America. Don’t you guys have 100’s of sambal oleks from SE Asia to choose from?

InUrNetz 7mo ago
We can buy it, but its not common. Sriracha is in most restaurants, I keep a bottle in my fridge, it's in every grocery store, etc.
mauvehaus 7mo ago
In short: no. I’m sure that in the Boston area we’d have had no trouble rustling up half a dozen or more. We now live in Vermont. The options are pretty much limited to Huy Fong. Reese makes a vastly inferior product that doesn’t belong on the same shelf that can be found in some supermarkets. I know two Asian grocery stores (neither of which specializes on any particular country to my uninformed eye). They’re both small enough that they aren’t stocking hundreds of varieties of any single sauce. So yeah. Credit to Huy Fong for capturing the mindshare with a quality product and getting available basically nationwide.
- brcmthrowaway 7mo ago
  Why move to a colder place?
soared 7mo ago
In places with Asian grocery stores, or cities with larger Asian isles, yes - we have tons of options. But sriracha is widely loved, many people have never heard of sambal but use sriracha all day.
- vel0city 7mo ago
  I agree many Americans wouldn't have a clue if you just asked them for sambal but if you said "that spicy chili paste in the jar at Asian restaurants" they'd know exactly what you're talking about.
righthand 7mo ago
Americans don’t know anything besides name brands. We used to have a healthy diverse culture and small businesses that differed from state to state but our reliance on importing has killed any notion of that. When the rich invade cities the first thing to show up is a Starbucks and the first thing to close is the local diner.
vel0city 7mo ago
While similar I don't think sambal oelek and sriracha are the same. Sambal oelek is typically pretty chunky, sriracha is usually very smooth. Sambal oelek will be pretty much just vinegar, salt, and peppers while sriracha will be sweeter and have garlic. In urban areas its not necessarily too hard to find a variety of both. Going further out it'll get harder, so the brand presence of sriracha will often win for the spot of the sole Asian-style spicy sauce on the store shelf. Asian restaurants will typically have one or the other. I think a lot of Americans prefer sriracha partially because of the brand presence but also because of its smoother texture. Americans have tended to use a squeeze bottle for condiments more, having a jar to spoon things out just isn't quite as popular. Even things like relish, jelly, and sour cream these days are moving towards squeeze packages instead of jars and tubs.

InUrNetz 7mo ago

We can buy it, but its not common. Sriracha is in most restaurants, I keep a bottle in my fridge, it's in every grocery store, etc.

mauvehaus 7mo ago

In short: no. I’m sure that in the Boston area we’d have had no trouble rustling up half a dozen or more. We now live in Vermont. The options are pretty much limited to Huy Fong. Reese makes a vastly inferior product that doesn’t belong on the same shelf that can be found in some supermarkets. I know two Asian grocery stores (neither of which specializes on any particular country to my uninformed eye). They’re both small enough that they aren’t stocking hundreds of varieties of any single sauce. So yeah. Credit to Huy Fong for capturing the mindshare with a quality product and getting available basically nationwide.

brcmthrowaway 7mo ago
Why move to a colder place?

soared 7mo ago

In places with Asian grocery stores, or cities with larger Asian isles, yes - we have tons of options. But sriracha is widely loved, many people have never heard of sambal but use sriracha all day.

vel0city 7mo ago
I agree many Americans wouldn't have a clue if you just asked them for sambal but if you said "that spicy chili paste in the jar at Asian restaurants" they'd know exactly what you're talking about.

righthand 7mo ago

Americans don’t know anything besides name brands. We used to have a healthy diverse culture and small businesses that differed from state to state but our reliance on importing has killed any notion of that. When the rich invade cities the first thing to show up is a Starbucks and the first thing to close is the local diner.

vel0city 7mo ago

While similar I don't think sambal oelek and sriracha are the same. Sambal oelek is typically pretty chunky, sriracha is usually very smooth. Sambal oelek will be pretty much just vinegar, salt, and peppers while sriracha will be sweeter and have garlic. In urban areas its not necessarily too hard to find a variety of both. Going further out it'll get harder, so the brand presence of sriracha will often win for the spot of the sole Asian-style spicy sauce on the store shelf. Asian restaurants will typically have one or the other. I think a lot of Americans prefer sriracha partially because of the brand presence but also because of its smoother texture. Americans have tended to use a squeeze bottle for condiments more, having a jar to spoon things out just isn't quite as popular. Even things like relish, jelly, and sour cream these days are moving towards squeeze packages instead of jars and tubs.