Nestled in a convenient corner of HG/BSK’s refrirgerator is the bright red squeeze bottle (adorned with a rooster) of Huy Fong Sriracha. And, wow, does that bottle get a lot of use. Sriracha adds a tangy zing to everything from eggs to soups, hamburgers, stews and much more. At first, the sauce was intended to enliven that essential dish of Vietnamese cuisine — pho. Vietnamese in the USA latched on to Sriracha but it soon burst out of any ethnic pigeon hole. Though based on Asian hot sauces, Huy Fong Sriracha is an All-American sauce created by David Tran, a Vietnamese emigre. Virtually every American chef, including such luminaries as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, adds it to a host of dishes. As a condiment, it is probably only surpassed by ketchup, mustard and, maybe, Tabasco.
The Thai gentleman who invented Red Bull, the energy drink, died recently. His net worth was estimated at $5 billion. Don’t know David Tran’s net worth but presume it must be substantial. Capitalism works (sometimes).
