13 Dishes Around The World That Taste Better With Sriracha

Given that the most successful brand of sriracha sauce is Vietnamese in origin, there’s no surprise that it pairs so well with Vietnamese cuisine. While the noodle soup pho is undoubtedly a great dish on its own, by adding a few squirts of sriracha you can drastically change the flavour of the soup, giving it a spicy kick while still retaining its hearty, full-bodied taste. A match made in heaven.

Basketball. Donald Trump. Hamburgers. America has given us many things – some good, some bad – but for such a relatively young nation its cuisine has taken over the world – and hamburgers have been leading the charge. Hamburgers are great, but with sriracha? They’re even better. A generous drizzle onto the underside of the bun can provide a warm, sweet and spicy taste that pairs perfectly with that satisfying burger-bite mouthfeel.

Mexico has a tonne of delicious spices and salsas that go great with tacos, but don’t be afraid to mix up it a little bit and cross those continents with sriracha at your next taco party. Whereas Tabasco can be a little tangy, and some sauces a little too spicy for some, the gentle sweetness of sriracha is a welcome change, and it has enough kick to satisfy those who need it. Throw in a couple of jalapeños and now you’re talking.

Everyone’s favourite Middle Eastern dip, hummus is a great option for a party or a buffet as everyone can get involved and dip pittas, carrots or whatever they choose into it – just as long as there’s no double dipping, of course. By adding a dash of sriracha to regular hummus, you’re saying goodbye to the often-bland taste of chickpeas and saying hello to a dip that’s as exciting, diverse and as fiery as the region it comes from.

Eating pad Thai right off the street in Bangkok is one of the best experiences you can have while travelling – and is also a great way to utilise your sriracha keyring. Pad Thai isn’t meant to be a spicy dish, with authentic dishes proving to be sweet and served with chilli flakes on top, and adding sriracha is a great way to counterbalance the sweetness of the dish and is a great alternative for those who aren’t fans of the fiery-hot chilli seeds. After all, sriracha was first made in Thailand – what better way to worship the god of sauces than to use it on Thailand’s national dish?

First introduced by the French during their colonisation of Vietnam, baguettes became a staple of Vietnamese cuisine and the delicious banh mi sandwiches shortly followed. The sandwich – often with pork, pate and crispy vegetables – is great on its own, but sriracha can really bring it to life, soaking into the crunchy bread and spreading throughout the whole sandwich. So good, you’ll want another.

A staple in several Asian countries, when it comes to fried rice you know what you’re going to get. While it’s not the most exciting of dishes, by simply adding a drizzle of sriracha you can transform the play-it-safe option into a real must-eat dish. Rice is great at absorbing the sauce, ensuring there’s an even taste with every bite, and even the colour of the dish will be transformed from drab to fab. A great motivator to learn how to use chopsticks, as you’ll want to get every last grain of rice.

Poland’s popular dumplings pierogi are great, but sometimes they can feel a little too much – all that dough can feel a little stodgy after a while. By swapping out sour cream for sriracha, pierogis are transformed from a relatively bland, stodgy dumpling into an exciting dish with enough fire to keep you warm in those cold, Polish winters.

College students around the world are most probably already aware of this epic combination, but for those who aren’t, here it – sriracha and ramen is a match made in heaven. By adding sriracha sauce to your bowl of ramen, you’re creating a dish that’s much more delicious than something that costs under a dollar and comes out of a packet should taste. The broth is transformed and the noodles do their best to absorb the sauce, providing you with a rich, spicy flavour right down to the last spoonful.

Mamma mia, there are going to be some Italians complaining about messing with their greatest export – but sometimes, change is for the better. Pizza is already great alone, but sriracha somehow makes it even better. A pepperoni pizza becomes a fiery fusion food, and a margherita is no longer unfairly known as the “boring” one after a drizzle of the red stuff, that works well with the melted cheese and the doughy crusts of a pizza. There’s only one thing wrong with it – you probably won’t have any leftovers…

Macaroni is great. Cheese is better. Sriracha is the best. Put them all together, and you’ve got a party. Whether you’re adding it as you’re cooking or squirting it on top at the end, sriracha goes fantastically well with mac and cheese. The sweet and spicy taste of sriracha, when added to the melting cheese and soft pasta, makes for the ultimate comfort food and is a great way to banish those winter blues.

Empanadas are a great street food from Latin America; tasty meats or veggies encased in pastry, it’s a great food to eat on the go. Only fitting then, that they should be paired with a sauce that’s as vibrant as the land they are from. With sriracha, there’s never any worry of bland, doughy pastry taking away from the deliciousness of the inside of the empanada – every bite is a treat, and you won’t be able to help but double and triple dip until you’re finished.

Thought sriracha was only good with food? Think again. Adding the spicy sriracha sauce to a mix of vodka, tomato juice and lemon juice gives this cocktail an almighty kick, making it the perfect drink to start a party with. A taste of Asia in a cocktail that was first invented in France, a sriracha Bloody Mary is the type of forward-thinking that proves the multiculturalism is working – and that sriracha really does go with anything.