FLYBYJING Sichuan Chili Crisp - Premium Spicy Savory All-Natural Vegan Chili Oil - Crunchy Hot Sauce, Good on Everything, Sugar Free - 6oz (Pack of 1)

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.

For a while now my go to chili oil has been the Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow, but I’ve always wished it had a little more kick. I tried another called Chi Chi Fire, and it kicked a little too hard for my taste. I love spicy food, but only up to a point, beyond which I can’t enjoy my meal. I decided to give this a try hoping it would be in that Goldilocks hot zone. It’s delicious, and I didn’t think it was lacking in chili crisp solids as some other reviewers have said, but extra spicy? I personally did not find it to be any hotter than the Lee Kum Kee. Maybe a little bit higher quality ingredients, more complex flavor, more umami, but not enough to justify the extra cost imo. The LKK is $4.50 for 7.2oz. This one is $10 for 6oz. You will certainly not be disappointed in the flavor, and it may be plenty hot for some, but if you are a seasoned chili oil fanboy or girl I don’t think you will find it Xtra spicy. My search for the perfect chili oil continues.UPDATE: after buying another jar and putting it head to head against the Lee Kum Kee I’ve decided to upgrade to a full five stars. It is still not quite as “extra spicy” as I would like, but definitely spicier and tastier than the LKK. Hot enough for a good kick, but mild enough to allow you to really heap it in your food. Also, I was mistaken about the price of LKK, which is in fact comparable to this one. About $10 for 7.2oz of the LKK, same price for 6oz of the Fly By Jing. It is the LKK Chiu Chow Chili Crisp that is $4.50 per jar, and I have not tried that one… yet. I am reading on Reddit that there is a company called Blank Slate Kitchen that makes an excellent Sichuan chili oil, and I’m already placing an order.

As the title states, Fly By Jing is nothing short of amazing. This is the only chili crisp I have ever tried and I honestly cannot recommend it enough!The container does sometimes not come fully sealed. SOMTIMES. But other than the occasional leaking, which is typically a very small amount. Still recommend the product highly.The smell is amazing, I think if I were to have it anywhere near me I’d be able to point it out instantly.Texture is great as well, you can either get a scoop of just the oil, or both the oil and crisps. The crisps have a not so crispy texture but rather an almost al dente type of bite that hides perfectly in any dish. It’s not that hot at all, if you’ve tried Samyung/fire noodles you’ll definitely live through this.This post was primarily to get the attention of the seller, after working a long night I get home, eager to find a package waiting. I didn’t notice due to it being night, but whoever delivered it ever so kindly did nothing to repair the damages caused to the outer box during shipping. Without noticing and just feeling the box it was shipped in was flimsy, I walk through my door just for it to smash on the ground. I tried looking through the options for inquiring about replacing and Amazon sends you through an amazing loop to keep you preoccupied without progress. Please if you can reach out I would love to reconcile the situation.Again I cannot recommend Fly By Jing enough, it is so insanely versatile it can go on about anything. (PB, blue berry bagel & the oil) - it’s like a Thai inspired bagel lol

Only complaint is that one jar = 3 meals for me. My spouse hates spice so I have to add mine into stir fry after cooking, separately, which this works perfect for - much better than using dry powder and flakes. But it's not spicy and I wish it was because I don't like using a bunch of rapeseed oil just to get a little heat.Please make a version which is 3x this spice level, so one jar = 9 or 10 servings.