Lao Gan Ma – Spicy Chili Crisp

Bitter: ⭐⭐⭐✰✰

Salty: ⭐⭐✰✰✰

Sour/Tangy: ✰✰✰✰✰

Sweet: ⭐✰✰✰✰

Umami: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✰

Heat: ⭐✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰

Quick Flavor Notes: Rich, dried chili, onion, umami, dark

Texture: Crunchy and oily

Recommended: Conditional

Ingredients: Soybean Oil, Chili, Onion, Fermented Soybean (soybean, water), Monosodium Glutamate, Salt, Sugar, Pepper Powder, Sulfur Dioxide, Sodium Sulfite

Founded in 1994, though with a recipe dating back from a decade before, Lao Gan Ma, or “Old Grandmother” in Chinese was founded by Tao Huabi, a widow and single mother from Guizhou, China. Growing from a single noodle stall to a billion dollar company and the face of chili oil to most of the western world Lao Gan Ma makes a variety of products, but this Spicy Chili Crisp is the original and most well known.

Let it not be said that Lao Gan Ma is a particularly natural chili crisp. It contains not one but two sulfites in Sulfur Dioxide (something that’s created when you strike a match) as well as Sodium Sulfite, both used as preservatives. It also contains MSG, which isn’t something I have any issue with, in fact I do use it in my own cooking, though it’s always impressive when companies find natural sources of it, especially when they can amplify it with natural sources of guanylates and inosinates. The base is soybean oil, something I typically try to avoid not due to any health concerns but because I find it often has an unpleasant fishy odor. The types of chiles used aren’t disclosed but apparently there was a bit of a scandal in China when Tao Huabi’s son took over the company and changed the recipe by substituting the traditional Guizhou chiles with those grown in a difference province (shades of Huy Fong Sriracha anyone?). Sales declined for a while before Tao Huabi took the reins back and went back to using the original chiles. This also makes use of fermented soy beans, a popular umami and flavor boosting product in Chinese cooking.

One area Lao Gan Ma does excel is in the amount of solids to oil in the jar. Some chile crisps are close to 50% oil, but Lao Gan Ma filled it up to the top with the chiles. What it isn’t, however, is actually spicy. That doesn’t mean that it isn’t flavorful, it does have a deep rich and umami-laden flavor that actually reminds me quite a bit of Thanksgiving, there’s just no real spice of heat to be had. Eating a spoonful of it straight the unpleasant soybean oil flavor does come out, however it’s not noticeable when combined with food. The flavor is dark and rich and there is some actual chile flavor as well as some nice funkiness from the fermented soybeans.

I did enjoy this with some dim-sum (the leftovers that I’d originally tried with the Mexico Gourmet Salsa Macha and I felt this was a much more natural pairing. I also enjoy a nice spoonful of Lao Gan Ma in noodle soups, though I’ve had much spicier chili crisps in Chinese restaurants abroad that did a better job of elevating the flavor. I’ve used Lao Gan Ma as an additive to big pots of stews, curries, and chili where it acts mainly as an umami booster and have always been happy with those results. For something with (just a little) more kick and a cool numbing effect I’d recommend the Saphon Food Project Chili Crisp.

When it comes to recommending Lao Gan Ma I’m going to give this a conditional – it’s worth trying once as it’s the default chili crisp most people in the west experience first, and they are the 800 lbs gorilla in the Chinese chili crisp game. I’m not likely to rebuy after I finish this bottle as I want to track some some much spicier and more boutique and natural options. Lao Gan Ma is tasty, just not hot in any way, and I’m not a fan of the excessive artificial preservatives.