Chili Boys – Crunchy Chili Crisps

Bitter: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Sour: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Salty: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Sweet: ✰✰✰✰✰

Umami: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Heat: ⭐⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Quick Flavor Notes: Savory, toasty, chile, sesame, umami, exotic

Texture: Crunchy and oily with whole chiles as well as sesame and chile seeds

Recommended: Yes

Ingredients: Chili, Wheat Flour, Sesame Seed, Palm Oil, Salt, Pepper, Spices

Founded by two NorCal natives, one of which had taught in Thailand for ten years and fallen in love with the cuisine, Chili Boys Crunchy Chili Crisps are a fried chile snack inspired by those he found in Thailand. Relatively new, having only been operating since 2023, Chili Boys donates 5% of their net revenue to education in Thailand. The company also makes an onion, garlic, and chili flake product designed to be used as a cooking ingredient or topping for foods.

The primary ingredient in these is fried chiles, according to Chili Boys, Thai chiles grown in the north of Thailand. A little bit of wheat flour and palm oil to fry them in and sesame seed and unnamed spices for flavor. It’s nice to see a crunchy snack with no artificial ingredients or preservatives. While they may look like the ubiquitous dried red chiles you find in Chinese cuisine the way these have been fried gives them a very crunchy texture that’s different from any other dried chiles I’ve had. They are a bit oily and will stain your fingertips a bit red, so good to have some napkins handy. There’s a deeply savory aroma from the bag that’s reminiscent of chili crisp oil such as Lao Gan Ma.

The immediate flavor profiles of these are toasted, roasted, and savory. The sesame seeds add a nuttiness and the roasting/frying process on the chiles brings out their earthier qualities. There’s a big umami punch coming from somewhere in these. The bag claims no MSG, so that’s not in the un-named spices, but somehow the frying process for the chiles and sesame seeds ups their umami levels considerably. The overall flavor profile is very similar to a jarred wet chili crisp, just turned into a dry snackable form. I do taste some Thai spices in the flavor profile but I’m not familiar enough with the cuisine to name them all. I do think there’s a hint of garlic, some dried onion perhaps, and something with an anise flavor, either star anise or perhaps dried holy basil. There are also some pungent and bright flavors here, perhaps some white pepper and ginger or lemongrass. The heat level is much less than eating raw Thai bird’s eye chiles but these do have a pleasant warmth that grows as you snack on more of them.

I’m happy to recommend Chili Boys Crunchy Chili Crisps. It’s quite a unique snack that’s almost all chile peppers and if you’re the type who’s ever been tempted to eat chili crisp out of the jar with a spoon you’ll absolutely adore these. These snacks are also all natural with no artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, or thickeners.