The Sriracha shortage scare of 2013 turned out not to be the Srirachapocalypse that fans of the Huy Fong (a.k.a. “rooster”) chili sauce had feared. Despite the averted crisis, we decided to hedge our bets and sample a few other varieties of Asian hot sauces from stores in the Washington area, including Steven Kim’s KimKim sauce — which, let’s put it out there, is not pretending to be a Sriracha usurper.
Fortified with water and saltines, Food section staff members rated sauces for flavor and level of heat, using a rating scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the best).
Here’s how they ranked, in order of preference.
Huy Fong Sriracha Chili Sauce (17 ounces, $4.69). Average score: 3.8.Comments: “tangy, hints of garlic”; “pleasant!”; “very strong aroma, off-putting”; “fruity”; “bland, comparatively.”