Cock A Doodle Doo

I love sriracha sauce. It’s fire-engine-red, mouth-burning, garlicky goodness. I used to put this stuff on just about everything I ate until a bout with gastritis several years ago led me to greatly curtail my intake of spicy food. Being awakened in the middle of the night by searing heartburn will tend to do that to a person.

A couple of weeks ago I found out that I have pretty much lost my tolerance for hot stuff.
I went to a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch with some coworkers. Seeing the bottle of sriracha sauce on the table made me want to start eating it again. I used to be able to down a pretty good amount of it, so I really poured it on my plate of Bun Cha Ha Noi. Big mistake. I forgot how potent this stuff is. My nose was running all over the place and my mouth was on fire. I’m sure my dining companions were quite amused. But now I’m determined to get my tolerance back up. I bought a bottle and have started with small applications. Flame-retardant mouth, here I come!

It’s really good in tomato sauces. And it’s great in ketchup.

I'm strangely drawn in by that crazy red color.

And that wacky cap that looks like the cap to that off-brand bottle of glue that you used to have in your school supplies.

A few years ago Trader Joe’s made their own version that I liked even better than the rooster variety. It had more of an aroma, more chili flavor (which made it a little sweeter) and it was a bit lighter on the garlic flavor. Unfortunately it was one of their limited-time-only products. Kinda gross that I still have some, although I don't dare eat it.