The hot sauce sensations
How Sriracha and Lao Gan Ma achieved global cult status.
Hot sauce can inspire fervent passion in its devotees. It’s a global obsession that translates to billions of dollars of sales a year. But with so many on the market, how do you create a taste that becomes a global hit? In this programme, Ruth Alexander explores the origin stories of two iconic brands – Sriracha and Lao Gan Ma. How did these sauces - born in humble circumstances in Vietnam and China in the 1980s - come to sit on dining tables around the world today? We explore their extraordinary stories and ask what their popularity tell us about changing global tastes.
If you would like to get in touch with the show, please email: [email protected]
(Picture: Large red chilli. Credit: Getty/BBC)
Producer: Sarah Stolarz
Contributors
Stephanie Li, blogger and YouTuber at ‘Chinese Cooking Demystified’
Andrea Nguyen, cookbook author and publisher of Vietworldkitchen.com
Last on
More episodes
Broadcasts
- Thu 5 May 202203:32GMTBBC World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
- Thu 5 May 202204:32GMTBBC World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
- Thu 5 May 202210:32GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 5 May 202221:32GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
- Thu 5 May 202222:32GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Sun 8 May 202207:32GMTBBC World Service except Europe and the Middle East
Food Chain highlights
Tea, coffee, spices, chillies ... snack on a selection of programme highlights
Podcast
![]()
The Food Chain
Examining what it takes to put food on your plate
