I have to admit to adding a good shake of another hot sauce I love, Tiger Sauce from New Orleans. The crunch, the slightly lip-numbing effect of Sichuan peppercorns and the savory spice added up to so much more than a sum of the parts. I drizzled in another generous spoonful and tossed it up with chopsticks. I'd made a ramen-size bowl of soba noodles and cooked lentils, topped with a cupful of roasted eggplant and cauliflower to be my base. A tentative bite - which was not terrifically spicy - led to a big slurpy spoonful. I found that its place is well established in the category, if by nothing more than discovering the Costco-sized jars dwarfing other brands on the shelf in a large Asian market. I wanted my first experience to be the gold standard, Lao Gan Ma. But what I first dismissed as a food fad has stood its ground in popular food culture, forcing me to at least give it a go. At first blush I assumed the crispy condiment was firmly in the province of Chile Heads. I do appreciate a good buzz from hot chiles, but I am not a fan of incendiary heat. When the first wave of the chili crisp craze hit, it passed me by. But if you're already there to get a bagful of hot chiles, you may as well pick up a few imported iterations of crisp to compare tastes from all over China and even some from Japan. The web is chock-full of DIY chili crisp videos and recipes you can easily create your own jars of crimson crisp with a quick trip to a good Asian market. The grassroots love for chili crisps was driven first by Chinese expats, but it is now beloved by a new generation of eaters and cooks who can't get enough heat and spice in their food. There are many versions of chili crisp, all featuring a savory underpinning of umami, like fermented black beans or soybeans, dried mushroom powder, peanuts, sunflower or sesame seeds, or sometimes more than a dash of MSG. Chili crisp became the perfect stir-in for tender noodles, a satisfying contrast of texture and big flavor.Ĭoconut Caramel Semifreddo With Grilled Chili Crisp Pineapple. Each spoonful was thick with chiles and aromatics that stayed crisp, rather than becoming chewy. Her version of a traditional chile oil was filled with not-so-overpoweringly spicy dried and coarsely crushed Sichuan chiles, crisped-up chunks of fried garlic or shallot, and fragrant spices (like Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon and bay leaf) - quickly toasted in a bath of hot canola oil. The creator of the Lao Gan Ma (translated as "godmother sauce") brand of this addictive chile oil was an enterprising woman who ran a noodle shop in the late 1990s to support her family. The origins of "chili crisp" are sourced to Guizhou province, where the majority of China's hot chile peppers are grown. Just a few posts forced me to finally pay attention to the regional Chinese pantry staple called chili crisp. Visually intriguing towers of soft-serve ice cream in waffle cones, with volcanic torrents of crispy garlic-hot chile sauce cascading over them - sweet, savory, creamy, crunchy, salty, spicy an amazing amalgam of sensory pleasure. So when one of the latest culinary Instagram darlings came along, my curiosity was piqued. Home cooks wanting to create restaurant-style dishes in their kitchens drove a demand for spicier, bolder flavors - conveniently found in jars and bottles from both local sources and at global markets. Since the pandemic, the domestic cooking game has been seriously raised. honors last year), hot sauces are heating up, with sales expected to reach $5 billion in the next few years. And while ketchup still reigns supreme worldwide (despite mayo taking top U.S. Sales of global sauces, dressings and condiments add up to more than $142 billion a year, according to market research firms. I know I'm not the only condiment queen, with a fridge and countertop littered with tasty food toppers.
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