美国国家公共电台 NPR In Home Of Original Sriracha Sauce, Thais Say Rooster Brand Is Nothing To Crow About

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Next, we have the backstory of Sriracha. The fiery¹ chili² sauce concocted³ by David Tran has conquered the American market, we're told. Tran came to the United States as a refugee from Vietnam. But the original Sriracha is actually Thai not Vietnamese. Michael Sullivan reports from the Thai city of Si Racha, where residents are just now hearing about the American brand.

MICHAEL SULLIVAN, BYLINE⁴: When David Tran was still a baby in Vietnam, 71-year-old Saowanit Trikityanukul’s grandmother was already cooking up huge pots of Sriracha sauce in her kitchen.

SAOWANIT TRIKITYANUKUL: (Through interpreter) When I was 9, my job was to mix all the ingredients together. I didn't pay much attention. I regret that now because I could've learned a lot.

SULLIVAN: Her grandmother is widely credited with being the first to make and sell the sauce. But Saowanit says it's really her great-grandfather who made it first before others in the family started selling it around town. They never patented the name, which has led to dozens of Sriracha brands being sold in Thailand and abroad, including David Tran's rooster brand, which I've brought for Saowanit to sample.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPOON SCRAPING GLASS)

TRIKITYANUKUL: (Speaking Thai) (laughter).

SULLIVAN: Wait. You're making a face. You don't like that one.

She needs a little water before she can continue.

TRIKITYANUKUL: (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: She says a proper Sriracha sauce needs to be klom klom - the hot, the sour, the sweet and the garlic all blending together seamlessly, none overpowering the other. The American one, she says, just brings heat. I test her theory at a seafood⁵ restaurant a few miles away, interrupting a table of Thais eating lunch. I've got a microphone in one hand, a bottle of the rooster brand Sriracha in the other. I ask 30-year-old Tanpatha Punsawat to try it.

TANPATHA PUNSAWAT: (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: A little bit spicy⁶, but is it good or bad or...

PUNSAWAT: (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: Just OK.

PUNSAWAT: (Speaking Thai) (laughter).

SULLIVAN: Twenty-nine-year-old Chuwet Kanja is next. He takes a spoonful and rolls it around in his mouth.

CHUWET KANJA: No good, no. (Speaking Thai).

SULLIVAN: Too bitter, he says, grimacing⁷. But reactions like these haven't kept importers from bringing the American brand to Thailand. And it's showing up more and more at upmarket eateries and grocery stores in Bangkok.

ROBERT BOOTH: You know, it's not an overnight success. But that's OK.

SULLIVAN: That's Robert Booth of the Super Ting Tong Company, the Thai importer of the rooster brand. The importer's name means super crazy in Thai. And Booth does admit to encountering some local resistance.

BOOTH: You occasionally run into some people who have very strong views about the rooster brand not being the original Thai Sriracha. But given the love of spicy sauces and spicy foods in Thailand, I think there's more than enough room to incorporate a new player in the market.

SULLIVAN: This is the factory outside Bangkok, where the original Sriracha from Saowanit Trikityanukul's family is now made. The export manager is Paweena Kingpad.

SULLIVAN: So how many bottles of Sriracha sauce can you bottle per day? And how much of that is for export?

PAWEENA KINGPAD: We produce about 36,000 bottles per day - and for export and domestic, 50-50 percent.

SULLIVAN: They'd like to export more to the U.S. and tap into the American craze for all things Sriracha but admit the rooster brand has already crushed that dream. But they're not worried the American Sriracha will eat into their market share here and hope to achieve world Sriracha domination by ramping⁸ up exports to another country where they're already doing well.

KINGPAD: China.

SULLIVAN: How big?

KINGPAD: 100,000 bottle per month at least.

SULLIVAN: Are you the No. 1 Sriracha distributor in China?

KINGPAD: Yes, correct.

SULLIVAN: So you've lost the American market, but you're No. 1 in a much bigger market.

KINGPAD: Yes, yes.

SULLIVAN: For NPR News, I'm Michael Sullivan in Bangkok.

1 fiery   

adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的

参考例句：

• She has fiery red hair.她有一头火红的头发。
• His fiery speech agitated the crowd.他热情洋溢的讲话激动了群众。

2 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

3 concocted   

v.将（尤指通常不相配合的）成分混合成某物( concoct的过去式和过去分词 )；调制；编造；捏造

参考例句：

• The soup was concocted from up to a dozen different kinds of fish. 这种汤是用多达十几种不同的鱼熬制而成的。
• Between them they concocted a letter. 他们共同策划写了一封信。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

6 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

7 grimacing   

v.扮鬼相，做鬼脸( grimace的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• But then Boozer drove past Gasol for a rattling, grimacing slam dunk. 可布泽尔单吃家嫂，以一记强有力的扣篮将比分超出。 来自互联网
• The martyrdom of Archbishop Cranmer, said the don at last, grimacing with embarrassment. 最后那位老师尴尬地做个鬼脸，说，这是大主教克莱默的殉道士。 来自互联网

8 ramping   

土堤斜坡( ramp的现在分词 )； 斜道； 斜路； （装车或上下飞机的）活动梯

参考例句：

• The children love ramping about in the garden. 孩子们喜欢在花园里追逐嬉戏，闹着玩。
• Have you ever seen a lion ramping around? 你看到过狮子暴跳吗？