When I initially met Lincoln Lee from LA Culinary, we both shared a common displeasure with the word 'fusion.' The word is used to describe countless mashups of ethnically-eccentric cuisine and is technically accurate. But it's surface level. A lazy label. A classification that only knocks at cuisine's door and comments on the floor plan, without a full tour of the house.
Bulgogi Taco? FUSION. Waffle Gyro? FUSION. Pizza Fried Chicken. Weird, but still FUSION. Enough.
When you grow up in Southern California, surrounded by Asian and Latin cuisine (to name a few), the flavors of different ethnic cuisines weren't completely isolated from each other. Instead they represent the bounty of spice constantly at your fingertips - regardless of origin or cultural connection, ready to be consumed. And in the hot sauce realm, that meant Tapatio on your fried rice or Sriracha on your al pastor tacos.
Within the last decade we've seen the commoditization of the red-bottle-green-capped Sriracha. You no longer have to go to the Asian supermarket or the pho restaurant to get your fix, you can find it at Whole Foods and gastropubs. Not to mention being able to find miniature versions on key chains, apparel, fast-food items and hundreds of consumer packaged goods. There's always going to be a place in my heart for you Sriracha, but I've been looking for something else to spice things up. And I found it: LA Culinary's La Sriracha Racha - a Mexican hot sauce at its core that's fermented in a Sriracha style. AKA the Mexican Sriracha hot sauce of your dreams.
Lee uses the vegetables and produce found in Mexican cuisine including lemons, cilantro, roasted peppers, onions and tomatoes. He then ferments those ingredients with vinegar for the layered taste and finish. I've already thrown the Racha on multiple burritos and pretty much everything at LA Culinary's booth at the 626 Night Market including these #manimalfries (pictured above). French fries topped with frog legs, chicken hearts, chorizo, chimichurri and the Racha. You can also find LA Culinary at this weekend's LA Street Food Festival, don't sleep on it.
You can get the sauce for $6.99 at LACulinary.com, and don't be confused if you see La Sriracha Macha or La Sriracha Racha. They're the same, I just caught them in the midst of a rebrand. Use code Foodbeast30 to save 30% on your order.
