Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp

A crunchy, mildly spicy savory condiment that can be used in just about any savory meal without taking on low calorie density weight.

Trail burritos? Absolutely! One pot mac and cheese? Yes, please! Freeze-dried chili and beans in the pouch? Why not? Just plain ramen, with or without the little flavor packet? Now we’re talking…

Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp can spice up and add a little crunch to just about any meal, without any real weight penalty. It’s mainly chili peppers fried in soybean oil until crispy, with (according to the label), fermented black beans, salt, Szichuan pepper corns, some indetectable sugar, and a mysterious “flavor enhancer”, which turns out to be good old MSG*.  The oil picks up all the flavors, and all the bits add crunch.

Because it’s packed in oil, LGM Chili Crisp has a higher calorie density, 7 cal/g, than most of the meals you might embellish with it, so in addition to flavor every spoonful adds a little calorie kick, well worth its weight in the backpack. Just repackage it carefully because oils have a tendency to leak. It doesn't need to be refrigerated after opening, and so should last the duration of most trips or even survive shipping to a resupply point. Neither I nor my more sensitive wife find it to be objectionably hot-spicy when used in moderation.

One of the better uses of Laoganma might be spooning it over the business end of a hot burrito. It’s impractical to carry salsa on anything much longer than a weekender, but otherwise easy to whip up trail burritos with fast rehydrating beans, cheese, and other light ingredients. But what’s a burrito without salsa?

I have to confess I am becoming addicted to this stuff. I try to use it sparingly, but I could easily consume half a jar with a burrito or two, or at least a quarter jar with our favorite Tuna P. Wiggle – box macaroni and cheese with freeze-dried peas and tuna. I’m not the only one. Spicy chili crisps seem to have been “discovered” during the pandemic years, with other varieties and make-your-own recipes swirling around the internet, some with garlic and a wide variety of other spices. Trader Joe’s offers its Chili Onion Crunch version – I’d love to try it, but we don’t have “Kjøpmann Josef” in Norway.

Laoganma has a US web site that offers a number of other chili-based condiments, but this is the only one we have tried. It garners 4.5 to 5 star average ratings on Amazon. We get it at one of our local Asian markets, where we also go for powdered coconut cream, another ingredient with a high calorie density that can be used in trail Thai curries and some desserts. Who knows what other backpackable treasures are hiding on those crowded shelves?

*The sodium salt of glutamic acid, one of the 20 essential amino acids found in all proteins, relatively abundant in meat, mushrooms, and fish and soy sauces, and responsible for the tongue-pleasing umami flavor. I add MSG to my homemade refried beans to fill out the flavor. MSG or one of the various spice mixes containing it might also be worthy backpacking condiments. 

Background

We've been trying Laoganma at home and on the trail for a couple months now, after it was recommended as a condiment in an online recipe. I've been enjoying chili-incorporated foods my entire adult life, and have been experimenting with trail condiments more intensively during the last decade.

Don't buy the large bottles—700 gm mainly for Australians. Burnt chili flakes and taste horrible.

I recently bought the large bottle of spicy chili flakes (700gm for Australian only). Scan no 6 921804701563 Made in China

It tasted horrible and almost all the chili flakes were burnt. Beware, the company thinks Australian Chinese do not know the taste of this chili flakes.

The quality control must be poor to allow it to pass through. Don't buy it.

Background

I have bought small bottles before and they were not burnt.