XL Original Sichuan Chili Crisp: Premium Chili Oil w/Crunchy Garlic and Shallots - Spicy, Savory, Vegan, Sugar Free Hot Sauce - Good on Noodles, Proteins, Veggies & Everything, 16oz Jar

I LOVE this Chili OIL SOOOOOOOOOOOO much. It is my favorite. The FLYBYJING Original Sichuan Chili Crisp delivers a standout balance of flavor and heat that elevates every dish it touches. The chili oil is layered with aromatic garlic, shallots, and Sichuan spices, creating a deep, savory profile without overwhelming the palate. The texture is crisp and satisfying, and the heat level is bold yet approachable. The quality is excellent, the ingredients are clean, and the flavor is reliably consistent from jar to jar. This is easily one of the best chili crisps available and a staple worth keeping in the kitchen.

I’ve gone through a lot of chili crisps trying to find “the one,” and this is it. FLYBYJING has the best balance of flavor and heat I’ve found — spicy enough to actually feel it, but not so much that it overpowers whatever you’re eating. My favorite part is honestly the texture. There are these little dried but chewy beans mixed in that I wasn’t expecting, and they add this extra pop of flavor that I haven’t gotten from any other brand. Combine that with the crispy garlic and shallot bits, and every spoonful has something going on — it’s not just oil, it’s got real substance to it. I’ve put this on literally everything — eggs, noodles, rice, roasted veggies, even just stirred into plain rice when I’m too lazy to cook anything else. It makes bland food instantly better and adds a ton of flavor to leftovers that need some help. I actually got curious enough to try recreating it at home. Nope. Couldn’t do it. Whatever they’re doing with their ingredients and process, it’s not something I can replicate in my kitchen, so I’ve given up trying and just keep this stocked instead. The 2-pack is a smart way to buy it too since you’ll go through it fast once you start using it on everything.

First things first, let's be clear that I'm comparing this to the more ordinary "Lao Gan Ma" (at least I'm trusting that that's the correct name) chili crisp I can get at the store, and understand that to me, that's a perfectly fine chili crisp. There's a little texture, a little crunch, some nice warm heat - I like it. I'm a fan. This is an entirely different experience. "Better" is up to you, but for me, yeah. First of all, it's less a chili *crisp* than it is a chili *chew* if we're gonna name it after texture. There's less of a crunch than there is the feel of the preserved beans giving you a little resistance when you hit one. That's not a complaint, but it was a bit of a surprise. I definitely wasn't expecting that. Not unpleasant, though, as the texture's been welcome in anything I've used it in. It's also demonstrably hotter, and a greater percentage of oil. The brand I'm used to, there's a jar full of crisp with a fraction of an inch of oil on top, so you can get a mix in every serving, the jar I got here was almost half oil. It was a little disappointing, but not a huge complaint as the oil itself is spicy and flavorful, carrying a good bit of the umami from those beans, too. And it's definitely spicier than my usual. Not comically so, but enough that it required a little adjustment regarding what I thought I'd be tasting when I first tried it. The main difference, though, is the flavor. Normal chili crisp - for me - is just about adding a little crunch and a little heat. This avoids the crunch almost entirely, packs a little extra heat, and a ton of rich flavor. I still won't be putting it on ice cream in the near future, but I've found that for me it's at its best on tacos. Something I previously wouldn't have bothered putting my old chili crisp on since it'd be redundant, but with this, it really works. Putting it over melted cheese, crostinis that I'm having with soup, adding to salad, tacos - as mentioned, even putting a big blob over a fried egg on some ramen - NOTHING I've tried it with has been anything less than spectacular. Will purchase again without a moment's hesitation.

Solid 3 stars. Expensive, gotta pay for celebrity chef sponsors. Has a very gummy texture, not a lot of CRISP, as stated by product description and title. A lot of oil, not a lot of substance. The original flavor is mild (not spicy) for the most part, has a very smooth/gummy texture, a little numbing but very mild. I don't taste the shallots at all, and the gummy bean texture in this gives a weird mouthfeel. 3 stars due to has good flavor, 2 stars off for price, amount given (mostly oil), and the gummy texture.

UPDATE: The seller reached out and offered a refund. I refused because I did not want to take money away from a small business owner. However they refunded me anyway. I cannot say enough good things about the owners. They are truly honest and kind people with a generous heart and it was much appreciated! A rare commodity on Amazon. I gave the 2nd jar to my sister and she actually loved it. She likes salty and spicey, so it depends upon the consumer. If you love spicey stuff with that "umami savory" taste (that certain "something" that makes a savory dish taste yummy), then I think this would be for you. We've been using it on our morning eggs and we like that the best, it's perfect with eggs. :-) I had too high hopes for this after seeing a report on a morning show about it. I had never heard of chili crisp and it sounded fantastic, and the small business that owns it seemed like good people. So I wanted to test it out. Could only find it in a local Target store, but it was very pricey. Amazon charged the same price but at least it was for 2 jars instead of one. Many reviewers said that the texture was oily and to make sure you stir it well (which I did). It was good on stir fry and also eggs, (on savory foods mostly), but we found it to be a bit too spicy for our taste and it had an oily taste (and not the pleasant kind, but more of an aged oily feel and taste). We decided to just keep and use it for eggs and stir fry which it was mostly good with. I put the opened used jar in the fridge to keep it fresher, but one day, when I reached for the jar, the lid felt a bit oily, when I tried to gently open it, it slipped and flew out of my hands and half the contents (worth about $5.50) went all on the front of my favorite shirt and on the floor and freshly painted wall! Luckily, some good stain removal soap removed it from the shirt, and I wiped it off the wall before it could stain. This all happened right before a party we were having, so I cleaned up the floor area before I could take a pic of that also. It reaked of old rancid oil for 2 days after. The biggest complaint of this product is that they did not design the lids well. They are not securely tight fitting in the first place, and if the inner part of the lid gets oily (which is pretty easy), then the lid seems to easily loosen, and could also easily slip out of your hands while opening. Just a warning to people who buy it, be very careful and hold it over your sink when opening. Also, it tasted a bit too salty to us, so a little goes a long way. I plan on giving the second jar to a relative, as we did not really care for the taste enough to keep a 2nd jar of it. If you do buy it, make sure to stir it WELL before using it, or you'll just get a mouthful of seasoned oil.