PSA: Hard pass on Kinder's Chili Crisp

[jfmorris]

I was out of chili crisp, and had it on my Alexa shopping list, when we happened to pass the spice aisle at Sam's Club this past weekend. They have a bunch of spices and such from Kinder's, and I saw an overpriced ($7) jar of Kinder's chili crisp, but it was pretty big compared to the jars of my usual from Kroger, so I bit.

Next morning, I put a couple teaspoons over my scrambled eggs, excited to try it... Barf. It pretty much tastes of garlic and onion only, and very little heat or hot pepper flake flavor to it. VERY disappointing. NOT recommended if you like chili crisp as a condiment on your pizza, eggs, burgers, etc, like I do.

I'm tossing it and going back to Kroger for a jar of my go to - Lao Gan Ma chili crisp. It's in the "Asian" section of the international aisle at Kroger.

[tstalafuse]

I kinda feel that way about most of the Kinder's product line. They would get used one or twice and in the trash.

[jfmorris]

Agreed! I *TRIED* to like their stuff, but almost every single sauce or spice I've tried has ended up in the trash. This chili crisp is the worst. The next worst was one of their buffalo wing sauces. The *BEST* was their buttery buffalo dry spice mix. It's amazing on popcorn, haha...

[jlazar]

The only one I like is The Blend (SPG).

[acorgihouse]

Costco sells a lot of Kinder stuff also. I've tried a couple of them, and after one bite of each I threw them away. The ones I tried had a weird greasy taste to them that was very off putting.

[fzxdoc]

I'm in the same crowd here who have tried a couple of Kinder's products and have not been impressed. Very salt forward and not much flavor outside of that besides maybe garlic and black pepper.

I really like Momofuku's Chile Crisp and also their Hot Honey Chili Crunch product as well. I flavor grilled chicken with both. Husband prefers the milder Hot Honey one. I find it very chunkily flavorful, but prefer the kick from the original (also very chunky) Chili Crisp. I get both at Publix.

I also like Fly by Jing Chile Crisp if I can find it. I used to order it and their delicious Zhong sauce direct from them online, but got tired of receiving products with extremely short expiration dates. I like buying from markets where I can check the best by date myself before buying.

As an aside, I used to buy the original Japanese Kewpie Mayo* the same way--direct from the US distributor. Same problem with short time spans to expiration dates. Now I buy it at the Korean grocery by Sam's Club which has decently long times to expiration. It's always a twofer whenever I go to Sam's Club--I either have to stop at the Korean grocery or the nearby Indian grocery before I head home with coolers full of Sam's Club meats and veggies in tow as well.

Kathryn

*Not to be confused with the American Kewpie Mayo on many grocery store shelves which has lots less zippity-do-dah in the mayo recipe.

[jfmorris]

I will look for those you recommended at Publix. Thanks for something else to try. I've never had Kewpie mayo either, but there is an Asian market next door to Kroger, so maybe I need to go look for some...

[Livermoron]

Agreed. I'm really enjoying the Momofuku's Chili Crisp.

[fzxdoc]

bep35 , as the chicken is grilling, getting close to taking off the grill, I add chile crisp so it can set on the chicken.

I also serve chile crisp on the side at the dinner table for those who want a bit more of it.

K.

[Mosca]

I’m the same with Kinders. I’ve even thought about asking here if it’s just me? I bought the two pack of burger sauce and fries dipping sauce. The burger sauce tastes like mayo/ketchup/mustard/relish, but with a weird aftertaste; I haven’t opened the fries dipping sauce, but it looks exactly the same, but maybe in different ratios.

I think I’d rather have the space in the fridge. It’s getting tossed. And I don’t need a fries dipping sauce.

[DogFaced PonySoldier]

Ditto. Did not like. Went back to Lao Gan Ma.

[Huskee]

I had to Google chili crisp. I thought it was a casserole like apple crisp but savory. Interesting. I've never even heard the words chili crisp in my life that I can remember. I wonder if it is regional in popularity/use?

[shify]

Its a Chinese chili condiment. Like a chili oil but has lots of crunch bits in it like fried garlic, fried onions/shallots, fried soy beans. Its spicy, oily, savory, crunchy, etc. I generally use it as a spicy condiment for rice, chow fun, stir fried noodles,

its gotten pretty big over the past few years, so whereas like five years ago it was only Lao Gan Ma, now it seems like there are 50 brands. I used to only be able to find it at places like H-mart but now I can find it at most supermarkets

[jfmorris]

I don't think I had heard of it but my son in law had a jar of it at Christmas that he bought for himself online. I like the one I get at Kroger better (Lao Gan Ma).

I like it as the fried chili pepper flakes are crispy/crunchy, the oil is spicy, and Lao Gan Ma has what I think are little crunchy peanuts or some kind of seed in there. I love it on eggs, and a few other things.

[synodog]

First time hearing about it on here a couple weeks ago…

[Bad Hat BBQ]

Less than impressed w/ Kinder as well

We get a Chili & Onion Crisp from Trader Joe....not bad but could be hotter

[shify]

i have tried a number of brands and nothing comes close to Lao Gan Ma. Momofuku was the best alternative of all the the ones I have tried and likely the only one I would get again if I couldn't get Lao Gan Ma.

Would definitely recommend avoiding anything more generic like a Kinders/Trader Joes. All that stuff is dumbed down to appeal to the lowest common denominator, so rarely is spicy or has any good crispy bits outside of maybe some onion/garlic

[fzxdoc]

jfmorris The thing with Lao Gan Ma is that what is available at the local Asian market often has no expiration date. YMMV. Lo Gan Ma is truly the "grandma" of chile crisps and is very flavorful, but I'd like to see a best by date before purchase.

I'm pretty cautious about expiration/best by dates. I may not exactly stick to them, but I like at least to be in the ballpark. The Momofuku brand is good and is American made (I think) but most importantly for me, has an expiration date on each jar.

[bep35]

Found Lao Gan Ma at the local Walmart. Put it on some chicken thighs this weekend and ran them through the grill. Will be doing that again.

[jfmorris]

fzxdoc Kathryn I've bought Lao Gan Ma at Kroger, and it has an expiration date on the jars I buy there. I keep it in the pantry after opening, and usually use it within a couple of months at most. It's just me using it here...

[Santamarina]

Kinder’s The Blend is a staple here. I use it as a finishing salt - hitting home fried potatoes and such to give a little extra flavor when salting.

Tried their taco seasoning and it’s horrible. I’ve been able to resist temptation and haven’t tried any other spice blends.

They used to make an organic bbq sauce, which was great, but it’s now out of production. Their standard and hot bbq sauces aren’t bad; better than the other options at our local market. I’m a huge buffalo sauce fan, but theirs is way too buttery for me. I stick to making my own with Frank’s.

One thing they make that’s fantastic is their onion dip mix. We prefer it over Lipton.