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The hot sauce sensations

How Sriracha and Lao Gan Ma achieved global cult status.

Hot sauce can inspire fervent passion in its devotees. It鈥檚 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 鈥� 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: thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk鈥�

(Picture: Large red chilli. Credit: Getty/主播大秀)

Producer: Sarah Stolarz

Contributors

Stephanie Li, blogger and YouTuber at 鈥楥hinese Cooking Demystified鈥�

Andrea Nguyen, cookbook author and publisher of Vietworldkitchen.com

Available now

28 minutes

Last on

Sun 8 May 2022 07:32GMT
主播大秀 World Service except Europe and the Middle East

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  • Thu 5 May 2022 03:32GMT
    主播大秀 World Service except Australasia, East Asia & South Asia
  • Thu 5 May 2022 04:32GMT
    主播大秀 World Service Australasia, South Asia & East Asia only
  • Thu 5 May 2022 10:32GMT
    主播大秀 World Service
  • Thu 5 May 2022 21:32GMT
    主播大秀 World Service except East and Southern Africa, Europe and the Middle East & West and Central Africa
  • Thu 5 May 2022 22:32GMT
    主播大秀 World Service Europe and the Middle East
  • Sun 8 May 2022 07:32GMT
    主播大秀 World Service except Europe and the Middle East

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