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Published on Leave a comment on Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce

This Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce is the next entry in our quest to try all of their chili oil-based products. It looks quite different from their Spicy Chili Crisp or the Fried Chili In Oil. It comes in multiple sizes, and the Asian market we obtained it from had this 9.88oz. jar. We hoped it would be as good as those others.

Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce jar
Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce label

The characters in yellow ovals on the label read: 辣 "là, spicy/hot", 三 "sān, three", 丁 "dīng, diced/cubed food", 油 "yóu, oil", 辣 "là, spicy/hot", 椒 "jiāo, chili pepper". For a deeper exploration of the subject, see Decoding Chinese Chili Crisp Labels.

Main Flavor Elements
  • Chili
  • Peanut
  • Kohlrabi
Snapshot
  • Base oil(s): Soybean
  • Solids to oil ratio: High
  • Flavor Enhancer: MSG
  • Potential allergens: Soy, peanut
  • Storage: Refrigerate after opening
Our Impressions
  • Heat level: Low
  • Texture: Crunchy and crunchier
  • Saltiness: Low (670mg. per 30gm.)

This one from Lao Gan Ma has a different sensibility from others of theirs we've tried so far. The first thing you notice about this Hot Chili Sauce is, well, it's not very hot. The heat from the chili is warm but relatively mild, leaving only a minimal amount of tingly numbness on the lips. There is initially a slight hit of pepper heat at the back of the throat if tasted by itself. There's no onion or shallot or garlic. It's not too salty tasting, even at 670mg. sodium.

There are whole peanuts for crunch and nuttiness, and crisp, crackly cubes of fried soybean curd for even more crunch. Kohlrabi gives a contrasting chewy cabbage texture and a vegetal flavor note.

While the brittle cubes of soybean curd were a little weird, we liked the overall flavor profile and varied textures of this one enough to consider buying it again.

Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce, Chinese labeling

Although unlikely, you may encounter the China market version at some point. The same characters found in the yellow ovals on the US export label are present under the LGM logo.

Interesting is the fact that the product is referred to on the China website as either "Chilli Sauce With Peanut & Beancurd & Kohlrabi" or (translated) on labels as "Spicy Three-Ingredient Chili Oil". Translated label ingredients largely match the US export, the absence of preservatives being an exception.

Ingredients

Soybean oil, chili, kohlrabi (fermented), peanut, beancurd (soybean, water), monosodium glutamate, salt, sugar, pepper powder, sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite.

More Information

Brand: Lao Gan Ma
Style: Chili crisp adjacent
Price paid: $5 / 9.88oz.
Country of Origin: China
Manufacturer website: www.laoganmausa.com
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Published on Leave a comment on Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil

This Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil is a variant of its chili crisp sibling. While Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp has a complexity all its own, this one offers a slightly different take more reminiscent of Sichuan chili crisps. While it characterizes itself as a chili oil, we classify it with chili crisps due to its preponderance of chili solids.

Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil jar
Lao Gan Ma Fried Chili in Oil sample

Translated, the characters in the yellow ovals read: 老 "lǎo, old", 干 妈 "gān mā, godmother, and 油 "yóu, oil", 辣 "là, spicy", 椒 "jiāo, chili pepper". 老干妈 also appears under the logo (where it makes more sense), but in a stylized font. For a deeper exploration of the subject, see Decoding Chinese Chili Crisp Labels.

Main Flavor Elements
  • Chili
  • Peanut
  • Sugar
  • Prickly ash (see below)
Snapshot
  • Base oil(s): Soybean
  • Solids to oil ratio: Moderately high
  • Flavor Enhancer: MSG
  • Potential allergens: Soy, peanut
  • Storage: Refrigerate after opening
Our Impressions
  • Heat level: Medium
  • Texture: Chunky, chewy
  • Saltiness: Medium (510mg. per 30gm.)

Here, we have peanuts replacing the fermented soybean of the Spicy Chili Crisp. We also have the addition of prickly ash powder, which brings a subtle numbing effect similar to sichuan peppercorn.

What is prickly ash, you ask? Well, it's related to sichuan peppercorn, both being derived from plants in the genus Zanthoxylum. To illustrate the difference, it may be said that all Sichuan peppercorn is a type of prickly ash, but not all prickly ash is Sichuan peppercorn.

If you're a fan of what prickly ash brings to a chili crisp recipe, it's commonly available powdered in the spice aisle of Asian markets.

We're a bit perplexed by this one. Nutritional information varies widely as pertains to sodium. We've seen labels, not just online item descriptions, that state sodium as 170mg. per 30gm. serving. Our jar lists 510mg.

For a long time, we believed that this product had no Chinese counterpart version. It just didn't seem that any similar product appeared on the LGM China website. After more consideration, and naming inconsistency aside, we'd characterize it as the US export counterpart to Lao Gan Ma Chilli Sauce with Peanut.

As chili oil/crisp products go, however, we found it quite accessible, being moderate in chili pepper heat and satisfyingly chewy in the texture department.

Update

It would appear that prickly ash powder has been eliminated from the formula for this product. In the order of ingredients, it has been replaced by "pepper powder", the exact nature of which we're not sure.

Ingredients

Soybean oil, chili, peanut, MSG, salt, sugar, prickly ash powder, pepper powder, sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite.

More Information

Brand: Lao Gan Ma
Style: Fried Chili in Oil
Price paid: $4.49 / 7.41oz.
Country of Origin: China
Manufacturer website: https://www.laoganmausa.com
Social media:

Published on Leave a comment on Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp

This Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp is for many their first exposure to chili crisp. We first learned about it watching a Youtube content creator use it to spice up an otherwise bland food he was reviewing. Searching locally, we found it at a local Asian market, but soon after found it stocked at Walmart as well. We learned that it was in fact considered to be the OG of commercially-sold chili crisps. It's fitting, therefore, that it's our first review here.

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp jar
Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp label

Translated, the characters in the yellow ovals on the label read: 香 "fragrant", 辣 "spicy", 脆 "crunchy", 油 "oil", 辣 "spicy" (again), and 椒 "chili pepper". For a deeper exploration of the subject, see Decoding Chinese Chili Crisp Labels.

Main Flavor Elements
  • Chili pepper
  • Crunchy fried onion
  • Fermented soybean
  • MSG
  • Salt
  • Sugar
Snapshot
  • Base oil(s): Soybean
  • Solids to oil ratio: Very high
  • Flavor Enhancer: MSG
  • Potential allergens: Soy
  • Storage: Refrigerate after opening
Our Impressions
  • Heat level: Low to medium
  • Texture: Crunchy
  • Saltiness: Moderate (340 mg. per 30 gm.)
Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp sample

Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp is heavy on the crisp. It has a much higher ratio of crunchy components to oil than some or maybe even most others. It lacks the numbing heat of Sichuan peppercorn, but that's not to say it's not hot. But, compared to some, it is relatively quite mild. Its flavor profile skews heavily toward the onion.

Most chili crisps direct you to stir the contents before serving because the crunchy parts settle to the bottom. This is less-so with Lao Gan Ma because it is more crunch than oil. The serving size listed is a hefty two tablespoons.

Lao Gan Ma also markets a similar product called Fried Chili in Oil. Basically, it removes the fermented soybeans and replaces the onion with peanuts for a different kind of crunch. We like it as well.

Ingredients

Soybean oil, chili, onion, fermented soybean (soybean, water), MSG, salt, sugar, pepper powder, sulfur dioxide, sodium sulfite.

Chinese Version

It's possible you may encounter the Chinese version of the product in some Asian markets. Its formulation differs slightly from the US export version, and we review it here. We've also done a head-to-head comparison of the two versions.

If you find it, you may want to do a comparison of your own. We found the differences both unexpected and intriguing.

More Information

Brand: Lao Gan Ma
Style: Chili crisp
Price paid: $4.49 / 7.41oz.
Country of Origin: China
Manufacturer website: https://www.laoganmausa.com
Social media:

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