Food fight: Chili Garlic Sauce vs. Sriracha

Sriracha is one of those cherished foods on the Internet, like bacon or Nutella. Let me be clear up front: I love Sriracha. I have a big ol' bottle of it sitting beside me as I type, and that bottle is very nearly empty. I can even tell you three ways to spot a bottle of counterfeit Sriracha, which believe it or not is an actual problem on the market today.

But more and more lately, I have been reaching for Sriracha's cousin, Chili Garlic Sauce.

It's too bad that Chili Garlic Sauce doesn't have a clever name for itself. It sounds vague, doesn't it? An almost generic term like "ketchup" or "ranch dressing." But Chili Garlic Sauce is an actual brand name, and it's produced by the same people who bring us Sriracha. Huy Fong Foods may be most famous for their Sriracha, but I'm starting to think their Chili Garlic sauce is actually a better product.

It must be said that both products taste fairly similar. And if you're not a "spicy foods person," you may not even be able to tell the difference, except that Sriracha comes in a plastic squeeze bottle, whereas Chili Garlic Sauce comes in a small, straight-sided jar.

But the more you use them, the more the differences become apparent. Where Sriracha is a little bit sweet, Chili Garlic Sauce has a little bit of garlic flavor. (In fact, Sriracha contains sugar whereas Chili Garlic Sauce does not, which makes Chili Garlic Sauce more compatible with a low-carb diet.)

It also seems to me that Chili Garlic Sauce has less heat than Sriracha. For breakfast this morning I had scrambled eggs with a big tablespoon of Chili Garlic Sauce, and I would never be able to tolerate that much Sriracha. If you're hesitant to try spicy stuff, I would definitely recommend trying Chili Garlic Sauce first.

Image courtesy Flickr/cthoyes