BETTER THAN BOTTLED – Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp

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Today, we are making Lao Gan Ma from scratch. Some of you may think I can get it in most Asian markets. What’s the point of making it at home? Well, the Asian markets outside of China usually carry the most basic version of chili crisp. This company actually has dozens of different products, and there is one called 豆豉牛肉酱， which is what I think is the best product from this brand. You can think of it as the “Lao Gan Ma Plus.” Why? It contains ground beef, a game-changer that makes Lao Gan Ma taste ten times better. If you already love chili crisp, think about adding beef jerky bite to it. Trust me, it is additively delicious.

To Season the Beef
250g of ground beef
1 tsp of salt
1.5 tsp of soy sauce (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/light-soy-sauce)
1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/Shao-xing-ooking-wine)

To Season the Oil
2 cups of peanut oil; if allergic, use your preferred cooking oil
4 scallions, cut into stalks
A handful of cilantro leaves
1/2 of a purple onion, sliced thinly
6-8 slices of ginger
2 star anise (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/star-anise)
1 cinnamon stick (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/cinamon-sticks-8oz)
1.5 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/sichuan-peppercorns)
8g of Lithospermum root, optional (Product Link – https://curatedkitchenware.com/collections/ingredients/products/lithospermum-root-zicao)

Others:
10 cloves of garlic, minced
3 tbsp of raw sesame seed (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/raw-sesame-seeds)
1 cup of fermented black beans (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/fermented-black-beans)
1.5 cups / 120g of chili flake (Amazon Link – https://geni.us/chili-flake)
2-3 tbsp of soy sauce to adjust the taste at the end
1.5 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of MSG, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

Soak 2 star anises, 1 cinnamon stick, and 1.5 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns. in hot water for about 20 minutes because if they are dry, they will burn fast in the oil.

Season the ground beef with 1 tsp of salt, 1.5 tsp of soy sauce, and 1 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine. Mix until well combined.  Set the beef aside.

Add 2 cups of oil, scallion stalks, cilantro leaves, purple onion, and ginger slices to a pot. I am using peanut oil, but any high smoke point vegetable oil will work well for this recipe, such as soybean, corn, and sunflower seeds oil. Also, please use a big pot to prevent overflowing.

Drain the star anise, cinnamon stick, and Sichuan peppercorns and add them to the oil.

Turn the heat to medium and stir all the aromatics constantly for about 20 minutes or until the aromatics are golden on the edge.

Use a strainer to sieve out all the aromatics and leave the oil behind. We don’t need the aromatics for this recipe any more, but you can toss them into homemade stock, and they will add so much fragrance to the soup.

Optionally, tear the lithospermum root (紫草) into smaller pieces and add it to a sieve. Put it into the hot oil and stir for 20-30 seconds or until the oil turns into a reddish-purple color. Remove the lithospermum root from the oil and discard it.

Add the seasoned ground beef and minced garlic to the oil and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the garlic is slightly golden.

Remove the beef and the garlic from the pot and set them aside, leaving the oil behind. Later on, we will have to bring the temperature to 400F. The beef contains a lot of moisture. If you don’t remove it, the oil’s temperature will not rise.

Turn the heat to high and bring the oil’s temperature to 400F. This is important because we need the heat to activate the fragrance of the sesame, chili flake, and fermented black beans.

Add raw sesame seeds and red chili flakes. Then, turn off the heat immediately so you don’t burn anything. Make sure the chili flake fits your spice tolerance. If your sesame seeds are toasted already, please add them at the end.

Add 1 cup of fermented black beans. Introduce the beef and garlic back into the pot. Keep stirring until all the bubbling activity is calmed.

Adjust the flavor by adding some sugar and soy sauce and mix well. Every brand of fermented black beans has a different sodium level so you just have to go by taste. If you are a fan of uncle roger, go ahead and add 2 tsp of MSG.

Store the lao gan ma in a sealed jar. It can stay good at room temperature for two months and six months in the fridge. You can eat it immediately, but if you let it sit for a week, it will taste even better.

Hi everyone I’m Mandy welcome to Soup recipes today we’re making La CH crisp from scratch I know some of you may think I can just get this from almost any Asian market what is the point of making it at home well the Asian market outside of China usually carry the most

Basic version of chili crisp this company actually has dozens of different products and there’s one called which is what I think the best product from this brand you can think of it like the LA Gama plus why it contains beef a game changer that makes your Lama taste 10 times

Better if you already love chili crisp think of adding beef jerky bite you know what I mean all right let’s start by preparing the beef this is a small piece of beef chuck I’m going to dice it feel free to use store-bought ground beef the reason I am

Dicing it by hand is that the supermarket that I went to today the ground beef did not look fresh at all so I just have to put in the extra work also I have tried this recipe with round pork and chicken they came out just as delicious so feel free to switch the

Meat if you want season the beef with salt soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine mix until well combined please do not stir in One Direction because we want the beef bites to be nice and loose add two cups of oil to a pot I’m using peanut oil but any any

High smoke point cooking oil will work such as soybean corn and sunflower seed oil the secret to an extra fragrant L is to season the oil with lots of aromatics I’ve got here two star anes one stick of cinnamon and 1 and A2 tablespoon of Citron peppercorn as you can see I pre-soaked

Them in hot water for about 20 minutes because if they are dry they will burn quickly in the oil a little bit of moisture will allow them to transfer the flavor to the oil without burning besides that I’ve got here a handful of scallion stocks a handful of

Cilantro leaves half of a purple onion which I sliced thinly six to eight slices of Ginger and 10 cloves of garlic that I finally missed we will Reserve the garlic on the side and add everything else to the oil turn the heat to medium and stir constantly this will take 20

Minutes once the aromatics are golden on the edge use a strainer to sift out everything we don’t need them for this recipe anymore but you can toss them into homemade stock and they will add so much fragrance to the soup I recently discovered a new ingredient Z I think the English name is

Called lethos sperman root it has no flavor so it is optional but it will dye the oil into a beautiful purple red color put it in a sift then into the hot oil of a medium heat for 20 to 30 seconds oh I love that color

Again this is optional you don’t have to use it now we’re going to add the ground beef use your spatula to stir and break the meat because we don’t want big chunks of meat patties we want it to be nice and loose so it can distribute evenly everywhere at the minced garlic and

Continue to cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the garlic is slightly golden it’s very very normal to see these foamy bubbles Do Not freak out I think the garlic is slightly golden now let’s remove the beef from the pot leaving the oil behind later on

We have to bring the oil to 400° fah that’s why we’re removing the beef because the beef contains a lot of moisture if you don’t do that the oil’s temperature will not rise set the beef and the garlic aside that looks delicious turn the heat to high and

Start bringing up the temperature to 400° fah this is important because we need the heat to activate the fragrance of the Sesame chili flake and fermented black beans these are raw sesame seeds if yours are Toasted please add them at the very end turn off the heat immediately

After you add the chili flakes so you don’t burn anything make sure the chili flake fits your spice tolerance you should use a bigger pot to prevent overflowing I normally use a walk but today I wanted to show you the color of the little sperman root so I

Changed it to stainless steel oh well the heat is off now so it won’t be that bad last add one cup of fermented black beat also known as do which has a strong salty and savory flavor this is the secret that makes Lama so addictive you

Can purchase it online or buy it from almost any Asian market I also have a demo of how to ferment black beans from scratch you can check the video right here here introduce the beef and garlic back into the pot and keep stirring until all the bubbling activity is

C now we’re going to do the final flavor adjustment I like to add some sugar which will not make the sauce sweet but it does help to balance all the spices every brand of fermented black beans has different sodium level so you want to season it by taste how however

If you do taste be aware it’s very very hot mine always needs about 2 tblspoon of soy sauce if you are a fan of Uncle Roger go ahead and add two teaspoon of MSG and that’s it we’re done store this in a sealed jar it can stay good at room temperature for 3

Month or in the fridge for 6 month you can eat sit immediately but if you let it sit for a week it will taste even better my high school was a boarding school and Lama is my must bring item every time I pack for school because the

Canteen food sucks so bad and this saves my life seriously just give me a few spoonful of L and I can eat a few bowl of rice straight without anything I love love eating those tiny bits of beef they are spicy and flavorful this tastes so much better than the store

Bought besides eating it with white rice I like to put Lama on noodles won soup a try to stuff it in between manto which is a type of plain steamed bun if you don’t have steamed buns use a couple slices of white toast trust me it is to

Die for I hope you give this a try soon as always the printable recipe link is in the description go check it out don’t forget to like And subscribe to my channel for more delicious and authentic Chinese food thank you for watching and I’ll see you next time bye