Subway's Creamy Sriracha sauce is something they're testing out here in southern California. I tried it out on a Chipotle Chicken & Cheese sub (with bell peppers, provolone cheese, and onions on flatbread) and compared it to the real thing.
The sub cost me
$5 since it's the Featured $5 Footlong this month and I asked for the Creamy Sriracha in substitution for the Chipotle Southwest sauce.
When they were putting together my sandwich, they put one line of sauce across the sub; it didn't look like much so I asked them to put a second line, so what you're looking at in the pictures is a double helping of Creamy Sriracha sauce.
The sauce is a bright, almost neon orange; it almost makes you think you should take a Geiger counter to it. I figured I might as well just taste it by itself and dabbed some on my finger. I got some sweet tanginess paired with creaminess before the heat hit me. Wow! This is some seriously spicy stuff!
While my tongue was burning, I decided at this point to sample the regular Sriracha... If you've never had regular Sriracha, it is mostly blended chili peppers; the taste is that of fresh chilies plus the heat that comes with as well as a lightly sweet and salty vibe with a tinge of garlic.
The Creamy Sriracha sauce is a little more sweet and tangy, but mutes the distinctive flavor of the chilies, which is much more pronounced in regular Sriracha. Heatwise, they are both pretty spicy, but the Creamy Sriracha might be just a little less spicy (I'm not sure as my tongue was already feeling a steady burn at this point). I'd recommend using either of them judiciously if you actually want to be able to taste your food.
At this point I started chowing down on the sandwich. The Creamy Sriracha does a pretty good job of adding flavor without overpowering the bell peppers, onions, cheese, or chicken (the ingredients were pretty well-balanced), despite the double helping I had them add to it. I don't recommend eating twice the sauce though unless you really like the spicy stuff, one line is plenty spicy enough. After eating half the sub, there was an uncomfortable burn for a good 10 to 20 minutes after. That being said, it was so spicy that I was sweating or that my eyes were tearing. I did reach for some milk afterwards to help cool my tongue down and my nose started to run a bit.
I would not recommend Subway's' Creamy Sriracha sauce if you're just looking for a little bit of spicy or are averse to spicy foods. If you can stand the heat though, there's a nice flavor enhancement here to kick your favorite sub up a notch.
