Sriracha Sauce

Rooster sauce, as it is also known has around since the 1980s. During the early 1980’s, David Tran immigrated to the United States from Vietnam and settled in Los Angeles. He was unable to find a hot sauce that he liked and began making his own. His recipe was modeled and named after the local hot sauces in Sri Racha, Thailand.

He began selling the sauce out of the back of his van and as the popularity of the sauce grew. Huy Fong Foods grew swiftly and today over ten million bottles of Huy Fong Foods Sriracha Sauce are sold every year.

The bright red, multi-purpose hot sauce is made from red chili peppers, garlic, vinegar, salt, and sugar. The sauce is hot and tangy with just a hint of sweetness. The flavor is unique, addictive, and very versatile.

Sriracha sauce is often served as a condiment in Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese restaurants throughout the United States. The most popular brand is manufactured in the US by Huy Fong Foods, which is owned by Tran.

What's in a Name, White Elephant

Sacred white elephants were and are kept by some Southeast Asian monarchs. Possessing a white elephant was regarded, and still is in Thailand and Burma (Myanmar) as a sign that the monarch reigned with justice and power, and that the kingdom was blessed with peace and prosperity.

It derives from stories that the kings of Siam would make a present of one of these animals to courtiers who were obnoxious or unpleasing, in order to ruin the recipient by the cost of its maintenance. A white elephant was a valuable, but burdensome possession, which its owner could not dispose of and whose cost and upkeep was out of proportion to its usefulness or worth.

These days a white elephant can mean an object, business venture, etc., that is without practical use or value. The term is used in business and even more frequently used during the gift-giving holiday season as friends and relatives strive to find unique gifts to give. Many people consider dried fruit cakes as white elephants.

recycled Glass

Thai monks from the Sisaket province have used over one million recycled glass bottle to construct a Buddhist temple. They used the recycled bottles to build everything from the toilets to their crematorium.

The Wat Pa Maha Chedi Kaew temple, also referred to as “Wat Lan Kuad” or “Temple of Million Bottles" is about 400 miles northeast of Bangkok in the city of Khun Han close to the Cambodian border. Using green Heineken bottles and brown Chang Beer bottles, the monks were able to clean up the local pollution and create a useful structure. 

The water tower and tourist bathrooms are also made from recycled beer bottles. The temple also has large intricately crafted mosaics made entirely from the left over bottle caps.

Toy Imports

$4.3 billion was spent for toy imports including stuffed toys, puzzles and electric trains from China between January and August 2009. China was the leading country of origin for stuffed toys coming into this country, as well as for a number of other popular holiday gifts, including roller skates ($30 million), sports footwear ($120 million), golf balls ($31 million) and basketballs ($29 million).

China leads Canada as the leading supplier of ice skates ($12 million versus $5 million), with Thailand ranking third ($4 million), aye.  Canada is spelled  CA NA DA aye.