Sriracha: A Universal Condiment?

What’s the difference between the popular hot sauce called sriracha and the condiment known as “chili garlic sauce”? Isn’t sriracha pretty much chili garlic sauce? Aren’t they interchangeable? The main difference is that sriracha has sugar, and chili garlic sauce doesn’t, says goodhealthgourmet. Sugar tempers the heat a bit.

Chili garlic sauce is also more garlicky and tart in flavor than the sriracha, again, because of the lack of sugar, says Miss Needle. “Personally, I find sriracha to be more of a ‘universal’ condiment as the sugar balances out the vinegar,” says Miss Needle. “And I’m only talking about the Huy Fong brand as I’ve found other sriracha sauces to be quite vinegary. And sriracha is smooth while there are seeds present in the chili garlic sauce.”

Another similar product is the Indonesian sauce sambal oelek. It’s even more elemental than chili garlic sauce as it “has no garlic or sugar,” says SnackHappy. “The ingredients are chile, salt, and vinegar, but the taste is pretty much straight-up chili paste.”

Board Link: Sriracha/chili garlic