Su Chili Crisp is a chili oil similar to what you’d make at home if you had access to fresh spices and precision instruments. It’s not heavily seasoned with salt or sugar. Straight out of the bottle, it tastes like a pure, bright ingredient vs. a seasoned condiment like Lao Gan Ma. It’s made for cooking. Add as much as you like to your recipes without changing the saltiness or sweetness of a dish. Su’s complex flavors combine with other ingredients in new ways each time, complementing rather than overpowering. The original one is mala forward. We also offer a gluten-free Cilantro that’s more herbal, and a Five Spice that will make whatever you’re eating taste like Beef Noodle Soup.

One of the most common ways we use Su is to make a basic (but bonkers) dumpling sauce: 1 part vinegar to 1 part soy sauce, a spoonful of sesame oil, and as much Su Chili Crisp as the heart desires. The addition of dissolved sugar and Taiwanese black vinegar give it that restaurant edge. We also recommend throwing in some minced scallions and garlic, if inclined. Riff at will.

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Su Chili Dumpling Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp hot water
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce (we use Yu Ding Xing's Amber River)
• 1 Tbsp black vinegar (we use Wu Yin's Taiwanese Black Vinegar)
• 1 Tbsp Su Chili Crisp, mala flavor
• 1/2 tsp white sesame oil (we use Dong He's White Sesame Oil)

Instructions

1. Dissolve sugar in hot water.
2. Add soy sauce, black vinegar, Su Chili Crisp, and white sesame oil. 
3. Stir to combine.