Chili Crisp is the Next Sriracha and Available at Kroger and Trader Joe’s

Have you tried chili crisp - the spicy, crunchy Chinese condiment – that food writers are raving about and that’s showing up not only at specialty food hotspots Trader Joe’s, Foxtrot Market and Whole Foods but at Kroger and Target? Following the success of its Trader Joe’s Crunchy Chili Onion launched in 2019, the retailer featured a summer-seasonal, Mexican-inspired version of the Crunchy Chili Onion - Crunchy Jalapeno Lime & Onion – in the August 2022 edition of the Trader Joe’s Fearless Flyer. For snackers, the retailer also added Crunchy Jalapeno Lime & Crunchy Chili Onion peanuts to its lineup. The Kroger supermarket chain highlighted its Private Selection Chile Crisp Condiment in its January 2022 roundup of top trends for 2022 under the Umami away! theme.

What is Chili Crisp?

All chili crisps can be considered chili oils but not all chili oil are chili crisps. Chili crisp is distinguished by the presence of crispy, crunchy bits (i.e., more sediment than in chili oil) and combines a base of dried chiles fried in oil with other ingredients such as fried garlic, fried shallot, fermented soybeans, and Sichuan peppercorns. Unlike many hot sauces including sriracha, Tabasco, and Frank’s RedHot sauces that contain vinegar, chili crisp does not. The most well-known chili crisp in the U.S. is Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp. Lao Gan Ma means “old godmother” in Chinese. Tao Huabi, a noodle shop owner, created her chili sauce to go with her noodles in 1984 and started her chili sauce business in 1997 in Guizhou, China. To make it confusing there are multiple chili sauces under the Lao Gan Ma brand – Chili Sauce, Chili Oil with Black Bean, and Hot Chili Sauce.

How Do I Use Chili Crisp?

You can drizzle chili crisp on vanilla ice cream, fried eggs, vegetables, meat, and carbs as recommended by Fly By Jing on the front of its Sichuan Chili Crisp jar while you see recommendations for use on dumplings, pizza, and ice cream on the back of the 2-item pack created for Costco. TikTokers have shared recipes for how to make chili crisp (@okonomikitchen) including a bacon version (@thejoshelkin) at home as well as how to use the chili crisp in to make cucumber salad (@juliajung13), fried egg on rice with kimchi (@culinarylion), and Chili Crisp Garlic Butter Pasta (@happytummy_702).

Fly By Jing Creates Buzz for Sichuan Chili Crisp

Few Americans had heard of chili crisp prior to April 2020 when Sam Sifton featured Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp in his article, “Your Quarantine Cooking Needs New Condiments” for The New York Times Magazine. Jing Gao had only launched her Fly by Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp on Kickstarter in 2018 before starting a direct-to-consumer business on flybyjing.com and on Amazon. Gao, who had grown up in Europe, had moved back to China and started a pop-up restaurant concept called Fly By Jing in Shanghai as an homage to ‘fly restaurants’ – old school eateries that attract people like flies. The chef and entrepreneur was inspired to start her company in the U.S. to demonstrate that Chinese food can be high quality. Positioned as a premium, artisanal product using ingredients from her hometown of Chengdu in the Sichuan province, Gao highlights the use of three special ingredients – the rare Gongjiao tribute pepper, that provides the mouth-tingling properties, Erjingtao chilies, a local Sichuan chili; and caiziyou, a roasted rapeseed oil. Using social media such as posting photos of Sichuan Chili Crisp drizzled over vanilla ice cream on Instagram and posting videos on TikTok helped Gao create buzz for her new brand. In fall 2021, Fly By Jing moved into retail ?– Target, Whole Foods, Thrive Market, and Fresh Direct. For spice fiends, Fly by Jing introduced Xtra Spicy Chili Crisp with 3 the heat of the original in August 2022.

Restaurateurs Launch House-Made Chili Crisps

Pre-pandemic, chili crisp’s availability had been limited to Asian food stores and Amazon where one could find the La Gan Ma Chili Crisp brand. Chili crisp took off during the COVID-19 pandemic as home cooks sought out easy options to spice up their foods and struggling restaurant owners began to sell house-made chili crisps online while their restaurants were closed during the stay-at-home orders. In early 2020, New York City restaurateurs Eric Sze of Taiwanese restaurant 886 (Sze Daddy Taiwanese Chili Sauce), Lucas Sin of Junzi Kitchen (Junzi Kitchen Chili Oil), Jason Wang of the Xi’an Famous Foods chain (XFF Chili Oil & Crisps), Wilson Tang of dim sum shop Nom Wah Tea Parlor, and Brian Goldberg of Mr. Bing’s (Mr. Bing’s Chili Crisp) launched small-batch bottles of their chili crisps and chili oils through ecommerce.

In fall 2020, David Chang’s Momofuku team developed the Momofuku Chili Crunch based not just on the Lau Gan Ma Chili Crisp but from crunchy Mexican salsas like Salsa Macha and Salsa Seca from Eastside Tacos in Los Angeles. Three different Mexican chilis (puya, japones chili de arbol,) are combined with crispy shallots, sesame seeds, dried garlic, coconut sugar, mushroom powder, and seaweed. In Chicago, Chef Rishi Manoj Kumar, chef de cuisine at Bar Sotano, launched a line of three jarred salsas – Morita, Salsa Verde, and Oaxacan Pasilla and Pepita – in November 2020. Kumar fell in love with Mexican food growing up in Singapore and moved to Chicago to cook for Rick Bayless starting with Frontera Grill. The Morita salsa contains morita chiles, peanuts, sesame seeds, and extra virgin olive oil.

?More Restaurants Expected to Use Chili Crisps

As more chefs learn about the deliciously spicy, umami-rich flavor of chili crisps, they are expected to incorporate chili crisp into their menu. At the May 2022 National Restaurant Show, Roland Foods, LLC showcased its Spicy Chili Onion Crisp. At the July 2022 IFT FIRST, Lee Kum Kee Food Co., Ltd. offered a Make Your Own Custom Chili Crisp at its booth using its Chiu Chow Style Chili Oil as a fried chili garlic base.

Photo credit: Virginia Lee

Virginia Lee?is a food & drinks market researcher, writer, and speaker. ?She advises global companies and startups on innovation and market entry opportunities and writes about consumer trends and new products. As a speaker, Virginia has presented on food, beverages, beauty & personal care, CBD, and health & wellness at CBD Expo, Flavors and Fragrances, Natural Products Expo East, and Cosmoprof Cosmetica Brasil. Connect with Virginia on Twitter and Instagram at @VirginiaALee.