There are several Lao Gan Ma Chili Condiments available in the US market. Unless you venture into an actual Asian market, you may never see more than one or two of them offered for sale elsewhere. While we've reviewed them here, we thought it might be good to compare them all side by side. Each is delicious in its own way.
While we've compared the Chinese and US versions of Spicy Chili Crisp previously, for the purposes of this article, we'll focus on those available in US versions.
Chinese Lao Gan Ma Products
For the Chinese market, a dozen products fill out the Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil range. They fall roughly into three subcategories.
Those based primarily on or containing a high percentage of toasted chili flakes:
- Spicy Chili Crisp
- Chili Sauce with Peanut
- Chili Sauce with Fermented Soybean
- Chili Sauce with Peanut & Beancurd & Kohlrabi
- Chili Oil Condiment with Mushroom
Those containing meat:
- Chili Sauce with Chicken
- Chili Sauce with Minced Pork
- Chili Sauce with Pork & Fermented Soybean
- Chili Sauce with Beef & Fermented Soybean
Those containing flavoring ingredients not found in the others:
- Spicy Sauce (contains tomato)
- Spicy Sauce with Meat & Pickles (contains dried radish, mustard greens)
- Spicy Paste (contains sweet bean sauce)
Many of them, or, shall we say, versions of them are exported to the US market. The ones containing meat are an exception, as they are not approved for import into the US.
Identifying US Counterparts of Chinese Lao Gan Ma
1. Spicy Chili Crisp
Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp is the OG of commercially-marketed chili crisps, but the version of it we have here in the US may or may not be. The US version is soybean oil-based where as the China version, among other differences, uses the more-prevalently seen rapeseed oil, often imprecisely called canola in the US. (See Rapeseed vs. Canola Oil)
Irrespective of the difference, Spicy Chili Crisp has set a bar for texture and flavor, with copious solids in the form of chili flakes and crispy fried onion. Fermented soybean, sugar, salt and MSG round out the flavor profile. Together, they create an addictive combination that's not too spicy or too hot.
2. Chili Sauce with Peanut
Our local availability of Chili Sauce with Peanut has been limited to the China version, or so we thought. See below.
Compared to the Spicy Chili Crisp, this one replaces fried onion with peanuts. But it still has the satisfying texture and flavor of toasted chili flakes. Salt, sugar, Sichuan peppercorn and MSG complete the flavor profile. And we get some of that mala numbing for which chili condiments from Sichuan are famous.
We found this image and information that confirmed an export version with labeling in English exists. But it seemed inexplicably absent from the Lao Gan Ma USA website. We thought perhaps it was confined to Canada or another English-speaking country. Other than the difference in base oils-- soybean vs. rapeseed-- the recipes appeared identical.
Fried Chili in Oil
Recently, after some consideration, we've come to conclude this Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil is actually the US export version of Chili Sauce with Peanut that had eluded us. Lack of mention of peanuts in the name aside.
Soybean oil-based, it contains chili, peanut, MSG, salt, sugar, pepper powder, as well as some preservatives, which are typically absent in Chinese chili oil condiments. It formerly contained prickly ash powder, but that has been replaced with a more generic "pepper powder". As such, its mala spiciness is milder than that of the Chili Sauce with Peanut.
We like this one a lot, and tend to go through quite a bit of it.
3. Chili Sauce with Fermented Soybean
The Chili Sauce with Fermented Soybean is a bit of a departure from the others in that the fermented soybeans play a larger part in the solids content.
The US export version is labeled Chili Oil with Fermented Soybeans. Also soybean oil-based, the rest of the ingredients consist of chili, MSG, sugar and some preservatives.
The texture here is primarily of the fermentation-softened soybeans with the chili playing more of a complementary role. The chili heat is moderate, and lets the tangy, floral, aromatic character of the fermented soybean shine.
4. Chili Sauce with Peanut & Beancurd & Kohlrabi
In the US, Chili Sauce with Peanut & Beancurd & Kohlrabi is called Hot Chili Sauce. Here, we have quite an ambitious combination. The soybean oil base is infused with chili flakes, softly chewy fermented kohlrabi, whole peanuts and crackly, crunchy cubes of fried soybean curd.
The US name is a bit of a misnomer, as this one isn't really all that hot. Perhaps it's more to do with the fact that it only takes six Chinese characters to express a name that in English would never fit in the space allotted on the label. MSG, salt, sugar, pepper powder and some preservatives fill out the rest of the ingredient list.
Between the unique textures of the solids and the umami of the kohlrabi, this one is a standout.
Other Products
Lao Gan Ma USA also offers counterparts the same as or similar to Chili Oil Condiment with Mushroom, Spicy Sauce (Tomato Chili Sauce) and Spicy Paste (Spicy Bean Paste).