Food and memories

I saw this article in the New York Times today and just like the Proustian scenario where the character is transported to another time by the taste of a madeleine, my thoughts were racing as I read it.

It's red and comes with a rooster on the bottle. The first time I ever saw Huy Fong Foods' sriracha sauce was when my husband and I went on our first date to a Vietnamese restaurant. Everything tasted really good, but I didn't want to spoil it by adding some sauce I didn't know about. I tried it later and realized it has a good burn.

Because of the rooster, many people just call it the "rooster sauce". I'm sure those Asian grocery people think it's funny when all the non-Asians come in looking for it. One of the engineers I worked with developed a taste, so as a going away gift when she left the company, I gave her a bottle.

Amazingly enough, I used to talk to some of the folks at Huy Fong for one of my first jobs. The company I worked for supplied a part used in the sriracha sauce production. One of the Whitney boys took care of them (can't remember if it was Bob or Russ...our company's version of the Smothers Brothers...) and he said they were good customers. Turns out grinding hot peppers wears out the parts we sold pretty regularly.

It has been eleven years since I left that job, but I still have a flood of memories whenever I see that rooster on the table in the condiments. Go out and try some today...if nothing else, your sinuses will be cleared! Enjoy!