Every Lao Gan Ma, explained.

By now, most of you probably already know what Lao Gan Ma is. But whenever we talk about these things, some confusion always arises about "what Lao Gan Ma?" Because there is more than one Lao Gan Ma product and to be honest, its English translation is sometimes a bit confusing. So, to clear things up a bit, we buy

every

single one of Lao Gan Ma's products. Even the stew bases. So we'll go over what each one is, talk a little about how it's used in the context of Guizhou cuisine and how Lao Gan Ma is a classic rice killer... so we'll also do a little taste test and rank them based on what They go so well with rice.

First things first, youlajiao. The base of Lao Gan Ma, that is, Guizhou style chili oil. Youlajiao chili oil is one of the fundamental ingredients of Guizhou cuisine. This chili oil along with all its variations are very classic condiments and sauces in Guizhou food... you will see it used as a seasoning on rice noodles, such as the famous lamb rice noodle soup, or in liangban dishes such as tofu rice that made it recently. The core of the youlajiao is flavored with aromatics and then fried with roasted chilies and some other seasonings. It's the type of seasoning and ingredient that you can create from this base and create a ton of variations.

And it's one of those variations that put Lao Gan Ma on the map: that is, fengwei douchi youlajiao, black bean chili oil. This is the OG Laoganma. What you would see in convenience stores all over China. It is a combination of Youlajiao chili oil with fermented soybeans. It is a very common and widely used combination, most often seen in rice noodles or liangban cold dishes. But you can also use it as a base for stir-fries. But of course, the version most talked about on the Internet in English is, of course, “SPICY CHILI CRISP”, “Xianglacui youlajiao” in Chinese.

Its name contains two parts, the first half “Xianglacui”, which is chili chips, it is a kind of snack in Guizhou and you can learn more about it above; and the second half is “Youlajiao”, which is chili oil. Essentially, it is a combination of "Xianglacui" chili chips and "Youlajiao" chili oil. This seems to be the most popular Lao Gan Ma product overseas. He got that distinctive crispy fried chili and onion flavor. And we found that it works very well as a substitute for Sichuan shuyoulazi, "cooked" chili oil. Now, a quick confession. A while ago, we showed you how to make Lao Gan Ma style Youlajiao at home, and we called it "crispy chili" even though we weren't making it "Xianglacui Youlajiao".

But of course, the bottles we have here obviously don't have any English in them, so apologies for the confusion. After introducing the three great LAOGANMA products, let's do a taste test with rice. Here we have fried egg rice because it is especially good with Laoganma. And we will classify each product into four categories, which are "very good with rice", "less good with rice", "why is this with rice", and "don't even put this in rice". First, let's try Youlajiao chili oil. This is very good with rice. Next up, chili oil with black beans. At one point, I have 16 products to review.

This is also very good with rice. Hmm, some people may have a little problem with the slightly bitter aftertaste of black beans. But I think it also goes very well with rice. Uh, next up, the hot chili fries,

every

one's favorite. The... Personally, I think hot chili fries... also... are still good with rice. But in comparison, it is slightly good with rice. So don't yell at me, I'll put it in the "less good with rice" category. I'm sorry. Okay, moving on, let's look at the rest of the Youlajiao chili oil products. #4, "Lasanding Youlajiao", or they call it "hot chili sauce".

This is the version we based our LAOGANMA home video on. It has three add-ins, which are peanuts, firm tofu jerky, and fermented turnip. And those are "Sanding," which means "three dice" in Chinese, and I think I've seen some people call it "three mixes" in English as well. It is quite thick and has a fairly balanced flavor. And now let's try it. Ok I have it. Alright, this one's pretty good, especially with the fermented turnip, it's got a little... like a little hint of flavor. So I'll also put it in the "very good with rice" category. Alright, number 5, “Fengweiji Youlajiao,” or Savory Chicken Chili Oil.

This comes from a classic variation of "Youlajiao" chili oil in Guizhou, that is, "Jilajiao", which literally means "chicken chili". So it's a combination with chili oil and chicken pieces. And some people even eat it directly as a snack, but it's not really recommended because it's too salty. But now let's try it with rice. It's a little difficult to do it around here. Ah, chicken. I mean, I kinda get it, there's chicken in it. Bones. This one has a stronger Sichuan pepper flavor. Um, it's pretty good too. But a little less good than the other very good with rice.

So personally I'll put it at "least good for rice", maybe "least good for rice + 1". Very good. Well, now I venture into new territory, things I haven't tried. Enthusiastic! OK, #6, “Ganbianrousi Youlajiao”, chili oil with fried dried pork chips. This falls into the same category as the previous one, chili chicken. But instead of chicken, this one has pork strips. Now let's try it. Oh, pig! Okay, this one also got a strong hint of Sichuan pepper. It's a little tastier than the chicken chili, so I'll put it on top so it falls into the "very good with rice" category.

Well, number 7, “Rousidouchi Youlajiao”, or chili oil with pork chips and fermented soybeans. This is also very similar to the previous one, the one with pork chips, but on top of chili oil and pork chips, he added fermented soybeans. So, let's try it. This one is also pretty good, but the soy has a more obvious flavor and doesn't mix as well with the rice. So I'll put it in the "least good with rice" category. Alright, so number 8, “Jingzhi niuroumo  douchi youlajiao”, so chili oil with minced meat and fermented soybeans, yes. This is very similar to number 7, but instead of pork, here it is minced beef.

And now let's try it. The beef one is great with rice, yes. The beef one combines very well with rice. And since it's also chopped, the sauce itself... really mixes with the rice grains. So it's really good rice. I'll put it in the first category. Then number 9, "Xianggu Youlajiao". This appears to be a newer product developed by LAOGANMA and is a combination with shiitake mushrooms, chili oil and fermented soy beans. And Chris has been really enjoying this one, and let's see how I like it. This one is pretty good, especially with the shiitake mushrooms. It's a little thick and almost feels like you're eating a stir fry.

So I'll put it in the "very good with rice" category. OK. That sums up the universe of LAOGANMA chili oil. Now let's move on to the rest of LAOGANMA products. Here we have 5 seasonings, 2 hot pot bases and 1 pickle. Let's go through them one by one. This is "Shuidouchi", fermented soybeans soaked in water and chili. It is a very common type of fermented douchi, fermented soybeans in the southwest. And it is often used as a seasoning for liangban dishes or as a base for stir-fries. So this is not meant to be used with rice, but rather used in liangban dishes, so let's give it a try and see how it works.

No. It's really very salty. It's very salty. And I understand why it's in liangban dishes because it really has good umami, but you really need to dilute it with other things. So, yeah, don't eat it directly over rice, no. Next, Furu, fermented tofu. This is a classic to eat with rice, but it is also great with stir-fries and dipping sauce. Now let's see how the LAOGANMA version with rice goes. Just a little. Yes, this is furu, it is fermented tofu, of course it goes well with rice. Category "very good with rice." It's a pretty decent furu, so if you see it, you can buy it and use it like normal fermented tofu.

And next is Xianglajiang, hot sauce. This is a mixture of broad bean paste and sweet bean paste. And it seems to be a newer product developed by LAOGANMA. And it's supposed to be in stir-fries and stews. And Chris insists that this is a better Vegemite than Vegemite and he deeply believes that it looks great on toast. So now it's my turn to try it. I think it's quite tasty, but somehow it's a little dry. But maybe it's a bread problem because we ran out of brioche bread. So I think it will be pretty good if you use it on some kind of softer buttered bread.

Next we enter the fermented chili category. This is Zaolajiao, fermented chili sauce and in English it is called “pickled chili”. This is the classic Guizhou Fermented Sour Chili and is the base of the Guizhou Zaola Fermented Sour Chili flavor profile. It is not supposed to be eaten directly over rice, but rather used in dishes such as stir-fries or stews. But let's try it anyway. Well, you're not supposed to eat this with rice. But is it a good Zaolajiao? I will say it's pretty decent and...if you don't make it yourself then this would be a pretty decent product.

The next fermented chili sauce is Guizhou Fermented Chili Garlic Tomato Sauce. It is a very classic condiment and you can see it in Anshun guojuan, the small rice noodle rolls. And it is also a classic liangban dressing. Now let's try it with rice. This one is quite spicy. But it also goes surprisingly well with rice. But it's a great condiment and I think people can get it outside of China. If you see it, get it, try it. He's pretty good and he's good at a lot of things. Finally, the only pickle we have. Xianglacai, spicy vegetables.

It is fermented spicy green mustard. You can eat it as is or put it over rice. Now let's try it. Eh, interesting. Well, this one is pretty decent. It is quite good with rice. It's not too spicy and strangely reminds me a bit of Yunnan Suanyancai, which is quite interesting. You can try it if you see it. Lastly, our two hot pot bases, which we are not going to put directly on the rice. This is the base of Zaolajiao stew, which is for Guizhou's sweet and sour stew, Suanlatang. It is very popular and we love it.

We are very happy that LAOGANMA has it. And then the other one is the Douchi hot pot base. It is usually fried with minced pork and then water or broth is added to make a stew base. At the end of the meal, you pour some of that spicy broth over white rice and cornflour rice, it's pure wonder. So, this actually falls into the "very good with rice" category, but not directly. Well, this is a complete look at the LAOGANMA universe. We hope this clarifies things a little for you. And if you are curious, you can go to the LAOGANMA website and check out more recipe ideas, link in the description box.

And of course, thank you very much to everyone who supports us on Patreon to buy so many LAOGANMA products. And don't forget to subscribe to see more Chinese cooking videos.