How Sriracha Is Made

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Sriracha (Thai: ศรีราชา, Thai pronunciation: [sǐː.rāː.tɕʰāː]) is a type of hot sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. It is named after the coastal city of Si Racha, in the Chonburi Province of Eastern Thailand, where it was possibly first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants.


Just one company, Underwood Ranches in Camarillo, Cali., grows the chiles used to make Sriracha. And Huy Fong Foods only buys from them. Below, workers dump hand-picked chiles into crates.

Equipment does some of the work though. This year, the farm will grow 48,000 tons of peppers, according to owner Craig Underwood

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That would take up a field about the size of lower Manhattan, south of Houston Street

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After sorting, a conveyer belt hoists the peppers onto trucks. The farm sends about 30 semis to Huy Fong Foods daily

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Vietnamese refugee David Tran founded Huy Fong Foods, located in Rosemead, Cali

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Once the chiles leave the trucks, processing starts

They look like red quicksand funneling into factory machines

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First, a windmill-like device washes the chiles, removing any dirt or chemicals

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Then they enter a grinder

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Kind of looks like ground beef, doesn’t it?

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After that, industrial, blue barrels store the chile-mash

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Later, the mixture gets a dose of garlic and sugar. Below, the sauce cooks while churning