Momoya Chili Oil with Fried Garlic is from Japan and made in the taberu rayu style. It's often sold without additional labeling in English, so getting an idea of what it's about up front can be somewhat difficult. The head of garlic and the chili pepper on the label give a clue, but there's a lot more than meets the eye here.
Main Flavor Elements
- Garlic
- Sugar
- Sesame
- Onion
Snapshot
- Base oil(s): Rapeseed, sesame
- Solids to oil ratio: High
- Flavor Enhancer:
NoYes - Potential allergens: Wheat, sesame, soybean
- Storage: Store away from direct sunlight. Refrigerate after opening.
Our Impressions
- Heat level: Low
- Texture: Crunchy
- Saltiness: Low (256mg. per 16gm.)
It's not too salty, if both our calculations and what our tastebuds are telling us are correct. The translation of the nutritional information isn't in the standard format.
One look at the ingredients, and you'll see there's a lot going on in there. So much, in fact, it's difficult to isolate the individual components from a sample tasting. Suffice it to say, however, they have a synergy that works quite well.
We appreciated the high solids to oil ratio, and the satisfying level of crunchiness. And we definitely liked how, similar to the S&B, it has a peanut-y character without actually containing any peanuts. Definitely going to switch out peanut sauce for this one, the next time we have spring rolls.
A little pricey at around $8 for 3.88 oz, but we think worth it.
Update: The latest jar we obtained now has ingredients listed in English. We had previously used Google Lens to translate the Japanese on the jar itself. While many ingredients are the same, just worded differently, two glaring differences stood out. One, the addition of MSG, and two, the deletion of a seasoning and an antioxidant.
Ingredients
Edible rapeseed oil, fried garlic, edible sesame oil, chili pepper, fried onions, MSG, sugar, salt, chili miso paste (contains soybeans), paprika, ground sesame, onion powder, powdered soy sauce (contains wheat), powdered chili miso paste, seasoning (amino acid), antioxidant (vitamin E).
More Information
Brand: Momoya
Style: Taberu rayu
Price paid: $7.77 / 3.88oz.
Country of Origin: Japan
Manufacturer website: www.momoya.co.jp
Social media: