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In one respect, Huy Fong is a victim of its amazing success. Company founder David Tran started cooking up his signature product in a bucket in 1980 and delivering it by van to a handful of customers. The company quickly grew and he moved it to a factory in the nearby city of Rosemead. When it outgrew that facility two years ago he came to Irwindale, bringing about 60 full-time jobs and 200 more seasonal ones to the city of about 1,400 people. He says his privately held business took in about $85 million last year. His recipe for Sriracha is so simple that the Vietnamese immigrant has never bothered to conceal it: chili pepper, garlic, salt, sugar and vinegar. "You could make it yourself at home," he told a visitor during a tour of the plant on Tuesday. But, he added with a twinkle in his eye, not nearly as well as he can. The secret, he said, is in getting the freshest peppers possible and processing them immediately. The result is a sauce so fiercely hot it makes Tabasco and Picante seem mild, though to those with fireproof palates and iron stomachs it is strangely addicting. Thirty-three years after Tran turned out his first bucketful, Sriracha's little plastic squeeze bottles with their distinctive green caps are ubiquitous in restaurants and home pantries around the world. Even Galante, who is suing Huy Fong Foods, speaks highly of the sauce. "It is a good product. The city has no issue with the product," he said. "They just want them to upgrade, as good neighbors, and not negatively affect the residents."
[Associated
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