Spicy Chili Crisp (Angry Lady Sauce, Lao Gan Ma)
Recipe by Gravity84
The infamous Angry Lady Sauce. It has a pretty fantastic story if you're interested: http://www.womenofchina.com.cn/html/report/1163-1.htm One of my favorite condiments ever. Great on dumplings, mixed into noodles, stir frys, etc.
Ingredients[edit]
- 150 g neutral vegetable oil
- 80 g onion or shallot, minced as fine as you can
- 1 clove garlic, minced fine
- 2.5 g Sichuan flower pepper, stems and shiny black seeds removed (aka Sichuan peppercorn, prickly ash)
- 85 g dried chile peppers
- salt
- (optional) 2 tbsp peanuts or soybeans
- (optional) MSG
Chile Pepper Selection[edit]
This condiment, aside from the oil, is mostly chile pepper. Because of this, it takes a bit of planning ahead to make it edible and not head exploding hot. You can use any dried peppers but I like bright fruity peppers in this since the cooking in oil will add earthiness and starting with earthy peppers will just make it super earthy. My choice chiles are guajillo and japones. I would stay away from dried habaneros since they bring a lot of heat for their size and they also have a very distinct flavor and heat profile. I like a ratio of 40/60 guajillo/japones but feel free to adjust this to your tastes.
Preparation[edit]
Heat the oil in a small saucepan until it hits 250 F. Add the onion, soybeans (if using), and the garlic and turn heat to low. Stir and simmer until the onions are brown and the bubbling slows to a stop. This is basically making a confit and it is important to cook out all of the water due to the danger of botulism. Grind the chiles and flower pepper in your choice of grinding device. I like a blade coffee grinder. Once the bubbling dies off add the peanut (if using), chiles, and the flower pepper and kill the heat. Mix everything in and allow to come to room temperature uncovered. Add salt to taste. Something around 7 g is good, but start with 5 g and add more to taste. Add a good heavy pinch of MSG if desired.
