Bitchin' Sauce

Carlsbad, CA - Bitchin’ Sauce is expanding flavor horizons once again with its 20th and latest “Panang” Thai-inspired dipping sauce, which is now available in Sprouts and other stores across the United States. The event is the culmination of a decade-long friendship between Bitchin’ Co-Founders Starr & Luke Edwards, and San Diego culinary icon Momoko Jackson. 

For Bitchin’ Sauce, the new Panang flavor not only reaffirms a brand commitment to fresh-ingredient flavors and culinary acumen. For the industry, it also marks a notable sidestep of the mass-production norm by a nationally distributed brand. 

The Bitchin’ founder duo have tapped Momoko Jackson, known to San Diegans as the owner of World Curry restaurant in Pacific Beach, to prepare the small-batch, specially crafted vegan curry paste used in the Bitchin’ recipe. Jackson is hand-roasting vegetables herself, along with California Red Chiles and spices, drawing from 25 years of experience serving a global assortment of region-specific curries out of her beachtown kitchen. 

Described as rich and complex, the resulting flavor profile is a true-to-form Panang. Combined with the signature umami and scoop-and-spread-ability of Bitchin’ Sauce, it’s a choice companion to meats, salads, sandwiches and more. 

Jackson’s desire to package her own line of craft curries is what led to the first crossing of paths with a fledgling Edwards duo over ten years ago, when the Bitchin’ operation was still in early Farmer’s Market infancy. Facing similar production needs and goals to develop consumer packaging, a friendship was born. Panang Bitchin’ Sauce even saw seasonal rotations at the Farmer’s Markets.

Years later, in 2019, the discussion of a new Bitchin’ Sauce re-releasing the iconic Thai Panang flavor profile led to the renaissance of the recipe. Momoko, however, was suffering the recent loss of her ex-husband (and co-founder of World Curry) Bruce Jackson. With a pandemic coming shortly thereafter to disrupt the restaurant business worldwide, plans for Panang were put on the backburner. Finally, in 2023, the flavor received its long-awaited release in close to 400 Sprouts stores nationwide. 

"Bitchin' Sauce was born in the hyper-local San Diego food scene,” says Starr Edwards, adding "Momo was right there with us packing tubs & making labels over a decade ago. Her curry expertise is invaluable, and it was truly a no-brainer bringing her skill and savvy to this new Bitchin' flavor."