There’s just something about that Rooster. The prominent and proud figure of the popular hot sauce provides the promise of extra special eggs in the morning, a nice kick to your everyday tuna salad or burger for lunch and maybe even some fire to your pasta alfredo for dinner. You can pair it with just about anything and the folks behind the 2017 Phoenix Sriracha Festival are back for the second year to prove just that!
- Sriracha is more than just that container with the rooster. It’s kind of like Kleenex and tissues. Stay with me on this one! Essentially, sriracha is a hot sauce or chili sauce that is made up of a chili pepper paste, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. The name comes from the coastal city, Sri Racha, located in the Chonburi Province of Thailand, where it was first produced. Most Americans are familiar with the Huy Fong Foods brand, you know, the one with that loveable rooster on the bottle.
- Like many things, the uses are different depending on where you are in the world. In Thailand, sriracha is thinner and tangier that in other areas and it’s used primarily as a dipping sauce for seafood. If you’re in Vietnam, you’ll find the sauce to be thicker and heavier on the garlic and it’s used more as an all-purpose condiment. And here in the US, we’ll pretty much put it on anything!
- Huy Fong’s Sriracha used a red jalapeno but is not near as spicy as eating a fresh one would be. The manufacturing process minimizes the heat which brings it down to a tolerable level, about 2,200 points on the Scoville scale.
- Ever wonder what the deal is with that rooster on Huy Fong sriracha? It’s based on the Chinese year of the rooster which correlates with the year the founder David Tran was born.
- Looking to step up your flavor game? Check out the Sriracha Cookbook that features 50 recipes that make your favorite hot sauce really shine.
Now, let’s get back to the 2017 Phoenix Sriracha Festival details!
On November 4th, from 12pm until 8pm, Heritage Square will be overtaken by the hot sauce lovers waiting to see what kinds of sweet and savory dishes local chefs have crafted. You’ll find dozens of Sriracha inspired dishes as well as special signature cocktails that, yes, include sriracha in the mix! The family-friendly event will include a kid zone for the tiny spice lovers as well as live entertainment throughout the event.
Tickets for the 2017 Phoenix Sriracha Festival range from $10 for general admission and $75 for VIP tickets, which include 2 tickets, complimentary parking as well as 2 t-shirts. Guests aged 12 and under are complimentary but need to accompany an adult.
What’s even better is that I have 8 general admission tickets to give away for this spicy event! Want to be a winner? Just let me know what your favorite thing to put sriracha on is and you’ll be entered. Easy peasy! I’ll pick the 4 winners on Thursday, live at 6pm on Facebook, so make sure you tune in!
The 2017 Phoenix Sriracha Festival | Heritage Square | 113 N. 6th St. | Phoenix | 85004