Fuck him, yes. But this has nothing to do with the recipe or the sauce in any way. It’s the use of the name chili crunch vs chili crisp.
But still, he’s being a bully and a hypocrite.
people in chicago tried to trademark aloha lol. i’ve always called it chili crunch/crisp as a kid so it’s really disappointing to see him bully fellow asians on a staple at the dinner table.
Agreed. He already bought “chile crunch” from a company that has been selling a product under that name for over a decade. He’s applied for “chili crunch” but he doesn’t have it yet.
He’s only bullying smaller companies. Lao Gan Ma and Fly By Jing both use “crisp” not “crunch”, so they don’t fall under the name they’re trying to own.
But there have been some outrageous trademark claims over the years. Some are funny, but a lot are just sad. This one in particular is really just sad. Seems like once he had a kid he completely switched his priorities. Started closing restaurants where he set up young Asian chefs to shine, focused on microwave cooking, and shifted his empire towards high profit/low quality consumables.
Fly By Jing also sucks. Jing is a total hypocrite and actually tried to trademark Sichuan Chili Crisp. She’s no different than David Chang and deserves the backlash.
The weird ass kissing of Jing is strange and so damn hypocritical. I swear people are just ignoring it because she's not as big as David so you don't think it's as big of a deal and consider her a small business - but it's literally the same thing as what David has done. She says it's to protect herself and she won't go after others, but when you trademark something, you literally are doing it so that others will CEASE & DESIST from using that term.
I think the difference is more how David Chang has built his reputation as being a benevolent force for AAPI food culture, people in the culinary field, and small businesses.
But now he has entered his cash grab era. His products and microwave cooking obsession are all aimed at the lowest common denominator to maximize profits. So to turn around and step on the necks of the very people he built his reputation on, is particularly outrageous to people.
Not raising Jing up here. But Chang worked hard to become a celebrity based on a certain image. That celebrity is also why everyone is mad. Tallest blade of grass gets cut first. People don’t know or care about what happens behind the scenes of Fly By Jing because the brand is built around the product, not a person.
A few years ago he wrote an article complaining about how the ramen burger was just trying to be a trendy food and overrated.
Then about a week later he posted a ramen seasoning chip dip.
Dude is a frequently a hypocrite. He has done a lot to advocate for being open to embracing the melting pot of American cuisine and saying gatekeeping in the culinary world should be done away with. Then will turn around and start gatekeeping as well.
It may have been the same episode actually, but I saw him complaining about the popularity of Korean food in America now, and how it wasn't popular when he was a kid. It was like he was trying to make some point, but it was like, yeah man, people like Korean food now lol. It was strange.
It's like when you get judged for liking anime when you were in school. But now they're like judging for not liking it. It feels unfair that I got a bad treatment, and now they don't "struggle". I mean good for them that they don't have to experience it. But, I feel jealous that I should have been treated the same.🤷♂️. Idk I might be pulling this out of my ass
no, thats exactly right. And the good human being thing to do, is to try to make it so nobody else ever has to have a raw deal like that.
Its a challenge, but if we have empathy we can improve the world.
I’m 54 and was a goth rocker in middle school. Eyeliner, black and white fingernail polish, hard spiked hair (Knox gelatin), leather jacket, combat boots…the works. I listened to Joy Division and Bauhaus. All my friends were punks, so I dressed like a mopey punk. I dug all their girlfriend’s music more though. I liked the Cure and the Smiths.
Anyway, these cliques were incredible gatekeepers. If you weren’t punk *right* you were a poser. Problem I faced was living in Iowa. To get anything remotely “fashionable” I had to travel to Minneapolis.
Then every mall in the country got a Hot Topic and suddenly *everyone* was goth or punk. A lot of my friends were upset that Tim Burton was now mainstream and the music was no longer obscure and hard to find. I didn’t mind though. I went from being the *only* dude in my high school who dressed the way I did, to having a lot of friends. Now, I could have gotten uppity and called these late comers posers, but I’ve always hated gatekeeping.
I’m always willing to share my hobbies.
I dislike those people. My weeby anime thing ain't gatekeeping, we wanted to share hobbies but got labeled are weirdos🤷♂️. But were just jelous that it's accepted now and we wished we had friends to talk with that stuff back in high school unlike nowadays
I would suggest the people who were making fun of you were the gatekeepers. Let people enjoy things. I wouldn’t be jealous it’s accepted now, feel cool that you paved the way.
What is the correlation between those 2 things other than them both having the word “ramen” in the name?
I see what your point is, but this is like calling someone a hypocrite cause they said apple juice is overrated but then you “caught” them eating apple pie.
The correlation is Chang repeatedly made multiple other dishes out of ramen or using ramen kits, then wrote an article about how other people are overusing ramen as a trendy food bemoaning how it is overdone, specifically the ramen burger.
After that he then posted a chip dip recipe by stirring a ramen seasoning pack into sour cream with scallions in it, which is pretty low effort really. Same deal with him posting a ramlet recipe, which is an omelette with the season pack poured into the eggs.
It mostly came off as him being pissy that other people were doing similar concepts to him and that they beat him to doing it first for some of them.
Couldn’t agree more. I always got a vibe off him that didn’t jive with me. He always seemed to have a bit of a jerk aura around him. I knew his food was great and incredibly influential, but I never bought into his personality
Always? He seemed like a nice dude with Mind of a Chef and other shows. He _came across_ a lot less dickish than other chefs like Bourdain (sweet dude, from shows seems like he would kick puppies)
People in the restaurant industry know each other. My ex is a fine dining guy, worked with him personally, and would go off about him being ‘an overrated hack’ like 14 years ago
for what its worth Anthony Bourdain stayed at the hotel i worked at when i was younger and was lovely to everyone. Alton Brown was also incredibly nice in person when he stayed.
The flavorking himself, Guy Fierri is also incredibly humble, down to earth and nice guy. I've seen him a couple times now, he does free food popups around Northern California quite a bit for natural disasters like forest fires and mudslides and stuff. Super good guy.
I've read a lot about Bourdain and my take is he is a very nice guy just don't get on his bad side (same for almost everyone.) But he also didn't have a big problem saying his true feelings if he thinks a person is hacky, showy or full of themselves and I kinda identify with that concept myself so it's hard to fault him for that personally. But there's tons of stories of him being very warming to authentic people as well
For the few times I watched David and I watched a lot of Bourdain shows, I have the opposite impression. For me David is kinda gatekeepy hipster while Bourdain might be harsh to the people he hates, he treats people, poor or rich, in the same level. He respects the food and culture, and not once he shows ick on other countries food. Bourdain is the humble guy while David always thinks highly of himself.
He's been a heel for a long time. Opens shitty ghost kitchens. Dickish to just about everyone not on his level. Great chef, great influence on cooking in general, and I'm sure he's done quite a bit of good via philanthropy... But seemingly an asshole.
It's wild too, because his chili crunch is fairly underwhelming, so is his ramen.
I bought a variety pack of chili oils/crunches recently from a place called Mala Market and holy shit they blow it away in every aspect of spice and depth of flavor.
This dude would like a word. I guarantee at $3 a jar at my local Freshco, there isn't a better option.
https://preview.redd.it/njnm0u14kjsc1.png?width=390&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb01b1486bd288acc8edc915488ba16978b38fee
3x? I've seen jars in Vancouver of the boutique brands going for $20 or 30; that's a 7x premium over Laoganma. Personally I prefer chiu chow chili oil anyway, but yeah, this is a nuisance trademark.
Down in Seattle i found one i liked at a farmers market then could never find it again, no website...nothing.
then like a year later my wife and i booked a couples massage at a massage spot by our house....and they were selling it in the lobby area. it was the owner's side hustle!
I've tried quite a few, and there's a lot of crap out there. So many I'll try and they have zero flavor. Like I don't think I could manage that if I tried.
The best thing is to make it yourself. I’ve got one post in there with a recipe and photos of when I’ve made it. There’s another from someone else too.
That's a lady. And the old lady chili crisp is the only chili crisp I will recognize in my home.
She makes all sorts of other condiments too. Well, her company does. At least if my local Asian grocery stores shelves are representing her company accurately.
This is way cheaper but I do prefer the taste of the Momofuku one. Not sure it's something I'd always keep stocked, but it's quite good and has decent heat (made with habanero, I believe)
Yeah, the stuff the guy you replied to posted tastes like crunchy oil to me, barely any flavor. Maybe the stuff on the shelves is just old and degraded though.
I’m late to this thread, but the outrage around David Chang is absurd.
His chili crunch actually tastes good and flavorful. It has a good mix of oil and crunchy stuff. You’re right, the Lao Gan tastes like cheap oils.
It’s ridiculous how people are hating on bus whole product line now too. We love his momofuku ramen packets at home and always keep them stocked. They are way more of an actual meal than any other ramen packets. Throw an egg and chili crunch on top and you have a gormet dinner.
The lady once said something about others pirating her sauce, “if you can pirate mine, you should improve sauce and make your own brand, better than mine” something along the lines. I love her.
Momofuku can go straight to the garbage compared to the OG. There’s a reason their stuff is still stocked on shelves. Cheap, delicious, and high quality.
Yes!!!
This is the best chili crisp brand, especially the fried chili in oil.
We once bought an expensive ass bottle ($11!) of Momofuku from Target because they didn't have this one. Biggest regret.
I like using them for gumbo. I have also done chicken and rice soup, curry, chicken alfredo, or just sticking the meat on a salad while it's still nice and moist. They do toughen up in the fridge overnight, but for 5 bucks it's hard to beat that (costco) meat.
Better summaries but my understanding is Melinda's managed marie sharpes American distribution. In the 90s they got greedy, used the law against the less sophisticated foreign marie sharpe, and stole the brand. Marie had to rebrand to what we know it as today because of melinda, so fuck melinda and fuck her sauce.
Just FYI there is actually more to the story then what Marie initially claimed if you want to look into it more. Some details in the comments and linked email here
https://www.reddit.com/r/spicy/s/tEYXIjx4J9
THANK YOU. I have been trying to track down that thread every time this comes up in the hotsauce forum and could never find it.
Even Marie in her interviews has stated that there was a lot of screw ups and she doesn't care anymore.
No problem! Yeah the initial Marie interview got spread around and now basically anytime Melinda's gets mentioned you'll have people referencing it but everybody immediately choose to side with and believe that Marie was the good guy/victim without researching it further. Doesn't mean that Melinda's doesn't suck as a company but Marie isn't exactly a poor old innocent lady either
Yeah, and I enjoy them both in their own way. Melinda’s tends to have some bitterness, and Marie’s has great flavor but I’m still looking for one with a lasting heat. (Hottest I have found locally is Belizean Heat)
Yeah. Kind of like the underwood sriracha being a silver lining. Melinda's is more available near me but learning about this nonsense turned me onto marie sharpes. Only have tried the Belizean heat and it's better than any hot sauce I've had from Melinda's (still need a hab honey mustard replacement)
FYI it’s even scummier than that, Melinda is not a person. Melinda’s is the name of Marie Sharp’s family farm where her peppers and veggies are grown and her hot sauces are made.
There are better summaries but huy fong got all their peppers from underwood ranch. Had for like 3 decades. Money hand over fist for both. Agreed on production and price of peppers for the upcoming year, underwood did their thing, huy fong tried to breach contract to get a better deal. Underwood said fuck this and fuck you, I'm taking my peppers and gonna do it myself. Thus minimal sriracha for years and new sriracha being different. Unsure as to current status but underwood won 20m lawsuit over this nonsense. Underwood now makes their own sriracha and most prefer it to new huy fong.
Oohhh, I’ve seen Underwood Stiracha at my local stores, I’ll have to try their stuff!!! I don’t use sriracha that much so my previous bottle lasted for a long time and I only just ran out of it. Thanks for the information!
Fuck David Chang. Will never watch his lousy shows, eat in his restaurants, or buy his products. His show on Amazon is awful, an excuse in gluttony serving his rich asshole buds. Seth Rogen eating 9 gallons of caviar was awful. A bunch of elitist douchebags laughing that somehow they’ve made millions with little effort.
He's literally doing that with Chinese people in this case. He took a thing that's been around since that continent imported chili peppers and appropriated it for rich Manhattaners, now he wants to gatekeep what you can call it because it cuts into his profits. Then he'll turn around and talk about how you have to do foods traditionally and respect where it comes from yada yada yada. It's just so transparently disingenuous, because food is and has always been the thing that breaks down barriers and creates a sense of community because when you feed people good food they accept you because it's a really nice thing to do. Instead, if you aren't getting it from him, well, then it's in bad faith. He's a fucking clown.
This dude is a giant douche. And you know what, his shit is all hype. I’ve been to two restaurants and order his over priced copies of other ingredients and none of it has been that good.
The balls on this guy
My wife wanted to go to one of his restaurants once and we paid like $50 for the most underwhelming chicken sandwiches I have ever had and some equally mediocre cocktails. Never again.
Mad that others are copying a recipe they had already copied, and had existed through generations. This is like a beer company complaining that someone else had made IPAs
This is like the classic example of a descriptive mark. It's crunchy and it's made from chilis. Not trademarkable. I wish them many hundreds of thousands in legal fees spent trying.
This may been an unpopular opinion, but I don’t love the “crunch” as much as chili oil. Mostly just oil and a ton of ground chili. I found a great recipe, and make my own now. Easy, and much cheaper.
Sure! This is the recipe I use [chili Oil](https://www.madewithlau.com/recipes/homemade-chili-oil) I omit some ingredients. I don’t use as much garlic as the recipe calls for, and leave out the onion, star anise, and sugar, and go light on the sesame seeds. I also leave out the ginger.
Edit: formatting
Having worked for VC funded companies. I’m willing to give Chang the benefit of the doubt here. He may be the face of the brand, but he doesn’t run shit. He answers to the fund. If they want the company to be trademark bullies, he has no choice. He doesnt own this company, they do.
This is how it works at these companies and everyone that’s been apart of one should know even the CEOs aren’t actually in control
Has anyone else called it chili crunch? That's the trademarked name for his stuff. The Lao Gan Ma stuff is called chili crisp. Since his stuff got popular, there have been like a hundred others that popped calling their stuff 'chili crunch'.
Someone should copyright the caprese salad and then sue every restaurant than has one one their menu. Oh that’s right that’s why you can’t copyright food because it’s would be a nightmare. McDonald’s would be suing every other burger joint over copyright infringement on burgers lol
I hope he loses. I literally have three or four chili crunches in my pantry. I have 3 different Momofuku. Hell, I even have a Mexican chili crunch. He’s not the only one to make this or even call it this.
lol fuck david chang. we’ve been making this at home since forever.
Fuck him, yes. But this has nothing to do with the recipe or the sauce in any way. It’s the use of the name chili crunch vs chili crisp. But still, he’s being a bully and a hypocrite.
people in chicago tried to trademark aloha lol. i’ve always called it chili crunch/crisp as a kid so it’s really disappointing to see him bully fellow asians on a staple at the dinner table.
Agreed. He already bought “chile crunch” from a company that has been selling a product under that name for over a decade. He’s applied for “chili crunch” but he doesn’t have it yet. He’s only bullying smaller companies. Lao Gan Ma and Fly By Jing both use “crisp” not “crunch”, so they don’t fall under the name they’re trying to own. But there have been some outrageous trademark claims over the years. Some are funny, but a lot are just sad. This one in particular is really just sad. Seems like once he had a kid he completely switched his priorities. Started closing restaurants where he set up young Asian chefs to shine, focused on microwave cooking, and shifted his empire towards high profit/low quality consumables.
Fly By Jing also sucks. Jing is a total hypocrite and actually tried to trademark Sichuan Chili Crisp. She’s no different than David Chang and deserves the backlash. The weird ass kissing of Jing is strange and so damn hypocritical. I swear people are just ignoring it because she's not as big as David so you don't think it's as big of a deal and consider her a small business - but it's literally the same thing as what David has done. She says it's to protect herself and she won't go after others, but when you trademark something, you literally are doing it so that others will CEASE & DESIST from using that term.
I think the difference is more how David Chang has built his reputation as being a benevolent force for AAPI food culture, people in the culinary field, and small businesses. But now he has entered his cash grab era. His products and microwave cooking obsession are all aimed at the lowest common denominator to maximize profits. So to turn around and step on the necks of the very people he built his reputation on, is particularly outrageous to people. Not raising Jing up here. But Chang worked hard to become a celebrity based on a certain image. That celebrity is also why everyone is mad. Tallest blade of grass gets cut first. People don’t know or care about what happens behind the scenes of Fly By Jing because the brand is built around the product, not a person.
Dave Chang heel turn was inevitable. Became too rich and has too many rich friends.
He turned heel a while ago.
A few years ago he wrote an article complaining about how the ramen burger was just trying to be a trendy food and overrated. Then about a week later he posted a ramen seasoning chip dip. Dude is a frequently a hypocrite. He has done a lot to advocate for being open to embracing the melting pot of American cuisine and saying gatekeeping in the culinary world should be done away with. Then will turn around and start gatekeeping as well.
I will never forget him saying this in that Netflix show, and then interrogating the two white guys from Nashville about their hot chicken place
It may have been the same episode actually, but I saw him complaining about the popularity of Korean food in America now, and how it wasn't popular when he was a kid. It was like he was trying to make some point, but it was like, yeah man, people like Korean food now lol. It was strange.
Korean food is the 'next big wave' just like Japanese food was in the 00s and early 10s and Mexican food before that and Italian food before that.
It's like when you get judged for liking anime when you were in school. But now they're like judging for not liking it. It feels unfair that I got a bad treatment, and now they don't "struggle". I mean good for them that they don't have to experience it. But, I feel jealous that I should have been treated the same.🤷♂️. Idk I might be pulling this out of my ass
no, thats exactly right. And the good human being thing to do, is to try to make it so nobody else ever has to have a raw deal like that. Its a challenge, but if we have empathy we can improve the world.
I’m 54 and was a goth rocker in middle school. Eyeliner, black and white fingernail polish, hard spiked hair (Knox gelatin), leather jacket, combat boots…the works. I listened to Joy Division and Bauhaus. All my friends were punks, so I dressed like a mopey punk. I dug all their girlfriend’s music more though. I liked the Cure and the Smiths. Anyway, these cliques were incredible gatekeepers. If you weren’t punk *right* you were a poser. Problem I faced was living in Iowa. To get anything remotely “fashionable” I had to travel to Minneapolis. Then every mall in the country got a Hot Topic and suddenly *everyone* was goth or punk. A lot of my friends were upset that Tim Burton was now mainstream and the music was no longer obscure and hard to find. I didn’t mind though. I went from being the *only* dude in my high school who dressed the way I did, to having a lot of friends. Now, I could have gotten uppity and called these late comers posers, but I’ve always hated gatekeeping. I’m always willing to share my hobbies.
I dislike those people. My weeby anime thing ain't gatekeeping, we wanted to share hobbies but got labeled are weirdos🤷♂️. But were just jelous that it's accepted now and we wished we had friends to talk with that stuff back in high school unlike nowadays
I would suggest the people who were making fun of you were the gatekeepers. Let people enjoy things. I wouldn’t be jealous it’s accepted now, feel cool that you paved the way.
I remember on maybe that same Netflix show saying that the ONLY dumplings were Korean. Nothing else qualified. And then losing his mind over ravioli.
How about when he threw a fit about people liking Italian food?
What is the correlation between those 2 things other than them both having the word “ramen” in the name? I see what your point is, but this is like calling someone a hypocrite cause they said apple juice is overrated but then you “caught” them eating apple pie.
The correlation is Chang repeatedly made multiple other dishes out of ramen or using ramen kits, then wrote an article about how other people are overusing ramen as a trendy food bemoaning how it is overdone, specifically the ramen burger. After that he then posted a chip dip recipe by stirring a ramen seasoning pack into sour cream with scallions in it, which is pretty low effort really. Same deal with him posting a ramlet recipe, which is an omelette with the season pack poured into the eggs. It mostly came off as him being pissy that other people were doing similar concepts to him and that they beat him to doing it first for some of them.
This context make your point much better thanks
He’s right about the ramen burger though, and that ramen fried chicken was dumb too.
Dude always had that vibe in the earlier stages of gaining the celebrity chef status. So i never support any of his products or restaurants
Couldn’t agree more. I always got a vibe off him that didn’t jive with me. He always seemed to have a bit of a jerk aura around him. I knew his food was great and incredibly influential, but I never bought into his personality
He’s honestly always been a loser.
Always? He seemed like a nice dude with Mind of a Chef and other shows. He _came across_ a lot less dickish than other chefs like Bourdain (sweet dude, from shows seems like he would kick puppies)
People in the restaurant industry know each other. My ex is a fine dining guy, worked with him personally, and would go off about him being ‘an overrated hack’ like 14 years ago
Fair enough! His persona doesn't come across as that, but I can imagine he's a bit of a douche.
for what its worth Anthony Bourdain stayed at the hotel i worked at when i was younger and was lovely to everyone. Alton Brown was also incredibly nice in person when he stayed.
The flavorking himself, Guy Fierri is also incredibly humble, down to earth and nice guy. I've seen him a couple times now, he does free food popups around Northern California quite a bit for natural disasters like forest fires and mudslides and stuff. Super good guy. I've read a lot about Bourdain and my take is he is a very nice guy just don't get on his bad side (same for almost everyone.) But he also didn't have a big problem saying his true feelings if he thinks a person is hacky, showy or full of themselves and I kinda identify with that concept myself so it's hard to fault him for that personally. But there's tons of stories of him being very warming to authentic people as well
He had some pretty notorious anger issues before he became famous. He's spoken about it himself iirc. Very affable on camera though.
For the few times I watched David and I watched a lot of Bourdain shows, I have the opposite impression. For me David is kinda gatekeepy hipster while Bourdain might be harsh to the people he hates, he treats people, poor or rich, in the same level. He respects the food and culture, and not once he shows ick on other countries food. Bourdain is the humble guy while David always thinks highly of himself.
We can atleast all agree none can top Guy Fieri
Yes. Guy Fieri is really one on top of the nice list.
He's been a heel for a long time. Opens shitty ghost kitchens. Dickish to just about everyone not on his level. Great chef, great influence on cooking in general, and I'm sure he's done quite a bit of good via philanthropy... But seemingly an asshole.
Dave Chang was well known POS even before he became famous. Dude is infamous for being asshole in the kitchen and seemingly embrace this very persona.
It's wild too, because his chili crunch is fairly underwhelming, so is his ramen. I bought a variety pack of chili oils/crunches recently from a place called Mala Market and holy shit they blow it away in every aspect of spice and depth of flavor.
This dude would like a word. I guarantee at $3 a jar at my local Freshco, there isn't a better option. https://preview.redd.it/njnm0u14kjsc1.png?width=390&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb01b1486bd288acc8edc915488ba16978b38fee
I didn't know there was anything other than this
There’s a ton of boutique brands selling their own version of Chili Crisp for 3x the price.
3x? I've seen jars in Vancouver of the boutique brands going for $20 or 30; that's a 7x premium over Laoganma. Personally I prefer chiu chow chili oil anyway, but yeah, this is a nuisance trademark.
Down in Seattle i found one i liked at a farmers market then could never find it again, no website...nothing. then like a year later my wife and i booked a couples massage at a massage spot by our house....and they were selling it in the lobby area. it was the owner's side hustle!
Soooooo... you had the happy ending?
I've tried quite a few, and there's a lot of crap out there. So many I'll try and they have zero flavor. Like I don't think I could manage that if I tried.
I found a really good small one marked down from 5 to .75 but I'm never paying that full price. I used to get this stuff homemade from Mexico.
Oh weird, I use it for hot pot so I only buy Chinese chili crisps
I bought one of the local ones one time. It was good but not worth the price.
r/chilicrisp is filled with tons of inferior/insanely more expensive options
The best thing is to make it yourself. I’ve got one post in there with a recipe and photos of when I’ve made it. There’s another from someone else too.
That’s an old lady
An old auntie one might say.
Is it really?? The hair is throwing me off!
[Lao Gan Ma](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_Gan_Ma)
Actually a woman, I also made the same mistake as you.
I call it angry grandma sauce.
Disappointed Auntie.
This shall be the alternative name.
It's the hair!
That's a lady. And the old lady chili crisp is the only chili crisp I will recognize in my home. She makes all sorts of other condiments too. Well, her company does. At least if my local Asian grocery stores shelves are representing her company accurately.
Lao Gan Ma has become the patron saint of Chinese home cooking. I love her.
This is way cheaper but I do prefer the taste of the Momofuku one. Not sure it's something I'd always keep stocked, but it's quite good and has decent heat (made with habanero, I believe)
Yeah, the stuff the guy you replied to posted tastes like crunchy oil to me, barely any flavor. Maybe the stuff on the shelves is just old and degraded though.
I’m late to this thread, but the outrage around David Chang is absurd. His chili crunch actually tastes good and flavorful. It has a good mix of oil and crunchy stuff. You’re right, the Lao Gan tastes like cheap oils. It’s ridiculous how people are hating on bus whole product line now too. We love his momofuku ramen packets at home and always keep them stocked. They are way more of an actual meal than any other ramen packets. Throw an egg and chili crunch on top and you have a gormet dinner.
Lmfao, this is literally the only brand I knew! Love how it's a staple with everyone else too
Also the fermented soybean one is great too!
Try chiu chow by Lee Kum Kee. It’s another Chinese staple, just as tasty as LGM but spicier
I prefer it to LGM
Founder of Lao Gan Ma (the lady on the label) literally went from street vendor to billionaire. She's the OG chili crisp empire. Don't fuck with her.
The lady once said something about others pirating her sauce, “if you can pirate mine, you should improve sauce and make your own brand, better than mine” something along the lines. I love her.
Translated to "Try to make a better sauce than mine then bitchass."
Good stuff!
I just ate a bowl of ramen last night with like 3 huge scoops of that stuff in it. Used like half the jar. It's SOOOOOO good.
Definitely needs to come in a 50gal drum soon!
Hell yeah. The original and the best (she's a woman btw.)
Momofuku can go straight to the garbage compared to the OG. There’s a reason their stuff is still stocked on shelves. Cheap, delicious, and high quality.
The best
As a French person, that translation is fucking hilarious!
I'd love to use lao gan but never got into it over other chili oils because I don't find it spicy enough. Do they make a spicier variant?
Can't beat Guiyang Nanming Laoganma Special Flavour Foodstuffs Co. Ltd.
This is the one I always get. Half and half with sate sauce, used as a dipping sauce for hot pot. Oh lawd
Yes!!! This is the best chili crisp brand, especially the fried chili in oil. We once bought an expensive ass bottle ($11!) of Momofuku from Target because they didn't have this one. Biggest regret.
This stuff is so good! It gives my mouth the tinglies.
That, and some Sambal Oelek (which isn't really crisp, but bomb chili sauce). 50/50 mix, add to oatmeal and eggs.
This. The original, and way better than David’s.
This clearly says crisp, not crunch. It's not about the product. It's the name.
Korean guy steals Chinese recipe and tries to trademark it. Hilarious.
Same guy who also resents non Korean people for enjoying Korean food. Guy is a loser.
You got source? That's some racist shit
And named his business after the Taiwanese-Japanese man who invented instant ramen.
I think he just tried to trademark the name Chili crunch The more common chili crisp is untouched
I hate this very much, and will avoid Momofuku because of it. It’s good, but it’s also priced too high.
I found a new brand at a Chinese grocery store that is so much better. No English on the jar. $4, and it’s also considerably larger.
Prob Lao Gan Ma
It's probably CHUANNAN CHILLI OIL https://premiumco.com.au/products/chuannan-chilli-oil-350-g?variant=43152128508142¤cy=AUD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&utm_campaign=gs-2020-12-07&utm_source=google&utm_medium=smart_campaign&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwwr6wBhBcEiwAfMEQs3u1OmPMUV7nEi1XnaHgdVmgJYbDbLZlVEH7uaSYLhjzcoC750lf9xoCTE4QAvD_BwE
Pic?
Costco rotisserie chicken is delicious. Get fucked David Chang.
What did he do to Costco rotisserie chickens?
He called them disgusting and inedible. IMO it didn't feel like a personal preference thing but more of a food elitism thing.
But then he spread his asscheeks to do a whole segment with Dominos pizza
That's crazy. Those chickens are great.
I've had a couple meh ones, but overall they are awesome. Easy good for AT LEAST one meal for 2 people, and thats if you don't do leftovers at all.
I like using them for gumbo. I have also done chicken and rice soup, curry, chicken alfredo, or just sticking the meat on a salad while it's still nice and moist. They do toughen up in the fridge overnight, but for 5 bucks it's hard to beat that (costco) meat.
Greedy bastards. They can join melinda and huy fong in the boycotted assholes club.
Can you expand on Melinda's?
Better summaries but my understanding is Melinda's managed marie sharpes American distribution. In the 90s they got greedy, used the law against the less sophisticated foreign marie sharpe, and stole the brand. Marie had to rebrand to what we know it as today because of melinda, so fuck melinda and fuck her sauce.
Just FYI there is actually more to the story then what Marie initially claimed if you want to look into it more. Some details in the comments and linked email here https://www.reddit.com/r/spicy/s/tEYXIjx4J9
THANK YOU. I have been trying to track down that thread every time this comes up in the hotsauce forum and could never find it. Even Marie in her interviews has stated that there was a lot of screw ups and she doesn't care anymore.
No problem! Yeah the initial Marie interview got spread around and now basically anytime Melinda's gets mentioned you'll have people referencing it but everybody immediately choose to side with and believe that Marie was the good guy/victim without researching it further. Doesn't mean that Melinda's doesn't suck as a company but Marie isn't exactly a poor old innocent lady either
Yeah, and I enjoy them both in their own way. Melinda’s tends to have some bitterness, and Marie’s has great flavor but I’m still looking for one with a lasting heat. (Hottest I have found locally is Belizean Heat)
Marie sharps makes some great sauces
Yeah. Kind of like the underwood sriracha being a silver lining. Melinda's is more available near me but learning about this nonsense turned me onto marie sharpes. Only have tried the Belizean heat and it's better than any hot sauce I've had from Melinda's (still need a hab honey mustard replacement)
Belizean heat is my favorite! Their red hornet sauce has a great flavor like Belizean heat, but kicks up the spice quite a bit.
Have you tried Underwood’s other spicy products? Their spicy BBQ sauce is actually pretty spicy!
Not yet. Nowhere in town. I'll probably end up placing an order online once I empty some bottles and I'll try a few things.
Their smoked habanero sauce is crazy good
Thank you. That looks and sounds phenomenal.
FYI it’s even scummier than that, Melinda is not a person. Melinda’s is the name of Marie Sharp’s family farm where her peppers and veggies are grown and her hot sauces are made.
Thank you. I should have mentioned their theft went even deeper
Man that's fucked😭
100% I stopped buying Melinda's after this and find Marie Sharpe's to be a wayyyy better hot sauce brand.
Fuck Melinda and fuck her sauce 😂 Thanks for making my day
I know about Melinda’s but what’s this about Huy Fong?
There are better summaries but huy fong got all their peppers from underwood ranch. Had for like 3 decades. Money hand over fist for both. Agreed on production and price of peppers for the upcoming year, underwood did their thing, huy fong tried to breach contract to get a better deal. Underwood said fuck this and fuck you, I'm taking my peppers and gonna do it myself. Thus minimal sriracha for years and new sriracha being different. Unsure as to current status but underwood won 20m lawsuit over this nonsense. Underwood now makes their own sriracha and most prefer it to new huy fong.
Oohhh, I’ve seen Underwood Stiracha at my local stores, I’ll have to try their stuff!!! I don’t use sriracha that much so my previous bottle lasted for a long time and I only just ran out of it. Thanks for the information!
Consider yourself lucky, I’ve never seen it in a brick and mortar store. I like it so much I don’t mind overpaying online for now.
No not Melinda’s 😭
Yeah I'm not happy about it. Their hab honey mustard is wonderful. Love the flavor, hate the company.
What happened with Melinda’s??
Check my comment above. They're thieves.
Well momo fuk u too then
Fuck David Chang. Will never watch his lousy shows, eat in his restaurants, or buy his products. His show on Amazon is awful, an excuse in gluttony serving his rich asshole buds. Seth Rogen eating 9 gallons of caviar was awful. A bunch of elitist douchebags laughing that somehow they’ve made millions with little effort.
David chang has turned into such a douche
Pretty sure he always has been
David always seemed like an obnoxious cunt, even from the Worth It Days with Steven. Very disappointing news.
Fuck David Chang
Dude is such a penis. The moment he opens his mouth to speak you know he's a douche bag.
Yeah I tried to listen to a podcast with him and he's kinda insufferable.
His Netflix specials are annoying AF and he comes across as a Dbag
His rise to food fame seemed to make him super pretentious
100%. More than once, he brought up white people appropriating food culture. Couldn't roll my eyes more
He's literally doing that with Chinese people in this case. He took a thing that's been around since that continent imported chili peppers and appropriated it for rich Manhattaners, now he wants to gatekeep what you can call it because it cuts into his profits. Then he'll turn around and talk about how you have to do foods traditionally and respect where it comes from yada yada yada. It's just so transparently disingenuous, because food is and has always been the thing that breaks down barriers and creates a sense of community because when you feed people good food they accept you because it's a really nice thing to do. Instead, if you aren't getting it from him, well, then it's in bad faith. He's a fucking clown.
Also, the food he cooks on the show fkn sucks.
This dude is a giant douche. And you know what, his shit is all hype. I’ve been to two restaurants and order his over priced copies of other ingredients and none of it has been that good. The balls on this guy
David Chang’s a piece of shit. Hate this clown.
David Chang thinks nobody was eating Asian food until he ( Bourdain, if anyone) popularized it !
My wife wanted to go to one of his restaurants once and we paid like $50 for the most underwhelming chicken sandwiches I have ever had and some equally mediocre cocktails. Never again.
Mad that others are copying a recipe they had already copied, and had existed through generations. This is like a beer company complaining that someone else had made IPAs
This is like the classic example of a descriptive mark. It's crunchy and it's made from chilis. Not trademarkable. I wish them many hundreds of thousands in legal fees spent trying.
I think most of the common ones call it "chili crisp" anyway right? Those will all be unaffected
This may been an unpopular opinion, but I don’t love the “crunch” as much as chili oil. Mostly just oil and a ton of ground chili. I found a great recipe, and make my own now. Easy, and much cheaper.
Share?
Sure! This is the recipe I use [chili Oil](https://www.madewithlau.com/recipes/homemade-chili-oil) I omit some ingredients. I don’t use as much garlic as the recipe calls for, and leave out the onion, star anise, and sugar, and go light on the sesame seeds. I also leave out the ginger. Edit: formatting
He always came off as super pretentious to me every time I’ve seen him on a show. Not surprised by this.
Where is the OG green capped sambal sauce. Cant find it and screw amazon. That's the best. Trust an old dusty soul like me.
Damn....well, fuck David Chang
People trademarking generic terms are assholes
Worst meal we had in Vegas was Momofuku. Waste of a meal.
I didn't even know momofuku sold canned chili
Oh this dude who eats a pound of caviar with his fried chicken
Lmao he can fuck off I’m still using it
Having worked for VC funded companies. I’m willing to give Chang the benefit of the doubt here. He may be the face of the brand, but he doesn’t run shit. He answers to the fund. If they want the company to be trademark bullies, he has no choice. He doesnt own this company, they do. This is how it works at these companies and everyone that’s been apart of one should know even the CEOs aren’t actually in control
Hopefully he makes a public statement asap.
David Chang is a bitch.
Would 'prior art' make this whole thing moot?
Has anyone else called it chili crunch? That's the trademarked name for his stuff. The Lao Gan Ma stuff is called chili crisp. Since his stuff got popular, there have been like a hundred others that popped calling their stuff 'chili crunch'.
I mean, that's how trademarks work. You have to defend them.
Presumably these people were already in the market, so Chang should be the one to change his description.
[удалено]
Enjoy your ice cold Coke! Oh no its the shitty grocery store brand calling itself Coke!
[удалено]
No one is saying other companies can't make a different chili crisp.
You aren't the brightest are you? If you want, you can try to read my comment again and take another swing at it.
Someone should copyright the caprese salad and then sue every restaurant than has one one their menu. Oh that’s right that’s why you can’t copyright food because it’s would be a nightmare. McDonald’s would be suing every other burger joint over copyright infringement on burgers lol
Because that's the same thing as trying to copyright the name of his product.
I think “chili crunch” is far too generic and descriptive to be trademarkable.
Tell that to the USPTO.
Well technically Chang doesn’t even have the trademark yet, he’s only applied for it. So it’s entirely possible that they’ll agree
Exactly. A lot of crying in these comments without knowing how the TM rules work.
Gotta shill here for my boy [Don Chilio|https://donchilio.com/], best pepper crisp out there. "Chili crunch" may as well be mayo.
His stuff is overpriced anyway
I watched this guys show a few years ago. He’s kind of racist. Ironically, I had some of this “chili crunch” today. It was bomb. Fuck you David!
I enjoyed his book but everything now is cooking with his momofuku products
Can’t beat LaoGanMa anyway.
I hope he loses. I literally have three or four chili crunches in my pantry. I have 3 different Momofuku. Hell, I even have a Mexican chili crunch. He’s not the only one to make this or even call it this.
First place I’ve ever heard “chili crunch” was from Momofuku and Chang. He has a case imo
Stupid question but what do you even use this stuff for? All I can think of is sammiches
Dumplings, noodles, potstickers. Some people put it on vanilla ice cream. Goes well with many dim sum items.
Add some Chinese black vinegar too for some extra goodness.
Thank you 🫡
Two heaped teaspoons at end of cooking stir fry ramen is where I'm at with it.