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Sauces and condiments from Si Racha district, Chonburi, Thailand

Sriracha (Si Racha chilli sauce)ซอสพริกศรีราชา

Sriracha is a Thai chilli sauce from Si Racha in Chonburi, made from ground red chillies with garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt. Some recipes ferment the chillies first to deepen the taste. In one home method chopped chillies sit under salt brine for one to two weeks, then are simmered with garlic, sugar and vinegar and blended.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Sriracha itself.

DocumentedSauces and condiments7 days – 14 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceA home recipe from UC Irvine's Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute that makes about 4 cups. Thai factory amounts are not published.
Mixed red chillies (Fresno, jalapeño, Thai)2 lbs[uci-recipe]
Unchlorinated water4 cups[uci-recipe]
Sea salt3 tablespoons[uci-recipe]
Garlic, finely chopped2–4 cloves[uci-recipe]
Light brown sugar1–2 tablespoons[uci-recipe]
Rice wine vinegar1 cup[uci-recipe]

Total time across the recorded steps: 7 days – 14 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Red chillies are chopped fine

Step 1 of 4
Chop the chillies
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: chopped red chillies.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Sriracha is a Thai chilli sauce from Si Racha in Chonburi, made from ground red chillies with garlic, vinegar, sugar and salt. Some recipes ferment the chillies first to deepen the taste. In one home method chopped chillies sit under salt brine for one to two weeks, then are simmered with garlic, sugar and vinegar and blended. Made in 4 steps over 7 days – 14 days. The longest step, cover with salt brine and ferment, takes 7–14 days (Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute 2024).

Key numbers
Main step7–14 daysReported[uci-recipe]Cover with salt brine and ferment

What makes this one different

Sriracha is a vinegar chilli sauce first. Fermenting the chillies is optional in some recipes, and the home recipe ferments them one to two weeks, unlike long-aged pepper mashes, and vinegar, sugar and garlic go in after the ferment.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Sriraja PanichThe original Thai commercial brand from Si Racha. Its maker says the red chillies are aged for at least three months (the Thai page says up to three months) before they are mixed with garlic that was pickled for 7 days, sugar, vinegar and sea salt.
  • Ko Loi brandAnother Thai brand named in the Chonburi sheet.
  • Rooster-brand sriracha (USA)The widely sold American version, thicker and less sour than Thai sriracha.

Safety

The recipe gives no pH target and no storage advice for the bottled sauce. The NCHFP says botulism bacteria grow and make toxin in moist, airless food with a pH above 4.6, at room temperature and above 40 °F (4 °C), and that some types grow a little cooler. It names fermented vegetables that do not finish at a truly acidic pH as a risk. It says botulism spores surviving a baked potato's heat is to be expected, and that low-acid food needs a canner reaching at least 240 °F. No source we read says the recipe's 5–10 minute simmer removes the risk. This page's advice, because the recipe sets no pH, is that a bottled sauce not measured at 4.6 or below should go in the refrigerator, not stand at room temperature. The NCHFP says other problems can occur even in more acid salsas, so a pH reading does not clear the sauce of every risk.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Thai Office of Agriculture and Cooperatives in Chonburi traces the sauce to Si Racha district, where locals ate it with seafood, and dates commercial making to about 1932 (B.E. 2475). Sriraja Panich and Ko Loi are brands the sheet names, and it spread abroad around the Vietnam War.

  1. [opsmoac] Chonburi Provincial Office of Agriculture and Cooperatives (Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives), local wisdom sheet, Sriracha chilli sauce (ซอสพริกศรีราชา), 2026gov
  2. [uci-recipe] Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, University of California Irvine, Fermented Sriracha Sauce (recipe sheet), 2024other
  3. [srirajapanich] Sriraja Panich (ThaiTheparos PLC), maker's Heritage and FAQ pages, English and Thai versions (a producer's own account; the Thai FAQ page also carries unrelated gambling spam)web
  4. [nchfp-botulism] National Center for Home Food Preservation, Botulism, Think Outside the Jar (blog)gov