Sriracha, the beloved hot sauce with the rooster logo, isn’t always easy to find. Supply shortages happen, or maybe you’re just looking to branch out. So, What Is Comparable To Sriracha? This article explores 10 excellent alternatives, ranked from best to worst, based on a comprehensive taste test.
Bottles of Sriracha sauce with green lid on linen tablecloth.
Sriracha’s unique flavor profile—spicy, tangy, and slightly sweet—makes it a versatile condiment. But fear not if you can’t find it! There are plenty of delicious alternatives available.
Understanding Sriracha’s Flavor Profile
To find a suitable sriracha substitute, it’s crucial to understand what makes it so special. Sriracha is a Thai hot sauce made from chili peppers, vinegar, sugar, garlic, and salt. The Huy Fong Foods brand, with its iconic green-capped bottle and rooster, popularized sriracha in North America. However, “sriracha” has become a generic term for this style of hot sauce.
The Best Sriracha Alternatives: Ranked
We tasted and compared various hot sauces and spices to determine the best sriracha substitutes, considering flavor, heat level, texture, color, and availability.
1. Sambal Oelek: The Top Contender
Sambal Oelek, an Indonesian chili paste, takes the crown as the best sriracha substitute. Made with fresh red chilies, vinegar, and salt, it offers a similar heat and tangy flavor. Sambal Oelek is chunkier than sriracha but equally versatile. You’ll often find it next to sriracha in grocery stores.
2. Ketchup and Frank’s RedHot: A Surprising Combination
Surprisingly, a mix of ketchup and Frank’s RedHot comes in second. Frank’s RedHot provides the heat, while ketchup adds the sweetness and thickness that Frank’s lacks. The 3:1 ratio of ketchup to Frank’s RedHot mimics sriracha’s flavor and consistency remarkably well.
3. Mexican-Style Hot Sauces: Easy and Accessible
Mexican hot sauces like Valentina or Cholula offer a comparable heat level and smooth texture to sriracha. While they have a more vinegary flavor than sriracha’s subtle sweetness, they’re readily available and make a decent substitute in a pinch.
4. Peri-Peri Sauce: A Tangy Alternative
Peri-peri sauce, often made with African bird’s eye chili peppers, is known for its tangy and vibrant flavor. While tasty, its lemon and onion notes make it less similar to sriracha than other options on this list.
5. Sweet Chili Sauce: Sweeter Than Spicy
Sweet chili sauce, a common Thai condiment, shares some ingredients with sriracha but leans heavily on sweetness. While suitable for Asian dishes, its distinct sweetness may not be a perfect replacement in all situations.
6. Gochujang: A Fermented Korean Paste
Gochujang, a fermented Korean chili paste, offers a complex flavor profile with spicy, sweet, and salty notes. However, its thick consistency requires thinning with water before use as a sriracha substitute.
7. Louisiana-Style Hot Sauces: Too Vinegary
Louisiana-style hot sauces like Tabasco are thinner and more vinegary than sriracha, lacking its signature sweetness. While they provide heat, they don’t offer a comparable flavor profile.
8. Fresh Chiles: A Straightforward Heat Source
Fresh chilies, particularly red jalapeños, can provide the heat you crave. However, they lack the nuanced flavors of sriracha derived from vinegar, sugar, and garlic.
9. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Heat Without Complexity
Crushed red pepper flakes add heat but lack the other elements that make sriracha unique. They’re best used when heat is the primary goal.
10. Cayenne Pepper: Intense Heat in Powder Form
Cayenne pepper, a powdered chili, offers intense heat but lacks the complexity of sriracha. Use it sparingly due to its potency.
Finding Your Perfect Sriracha Substitute
While sriracha is unique, these alternatives offer a range of flavors and heat levels to suit various needs. Experiment to find the best match for your palate and recipe. What’s your go-to sriracha substitute?
