It’s rare that we include a particular brand of sauce in our Ingredients Glossary, as we usually write articles about a general ingredient and then suggest brands to try within that category. However, we’re making an exception for Lao Gan Ma chili sauces, because we always have them in our pantry and feature them in several of our recipes!
What Is Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce?
Lao Gan Ma, (老干妈) or “old godmother” is a brand of chili sauce. In 1997, founder Tao Huabi (陶华碧) started her business in Guizhou, China. She’s the very same lady pictured on the label!
She was born into a poor family in a remote mountain village and did not fully learn to read or write. Widowed a few years after marrying her husband and having two kids, she opened a noodle shop to support her family.
She soon became well-known for the special chili sauce she served with her noodles, set up her own sauce factory, and became a self-made billionaire with an international sauce empire!
The brand offers many varieties of chili sauces, but our favorites are the Chili Sauce with Black Beans that Sarah featured in our first ever recipe post, Simple, Spicy Pan fried Noodles, and Spicy Chili Crisp Sauce, which we feature in our Thai Basil Shrimp Fried Rice recipe.
Lao Gan Ma sauces are also very popular outside of China, with many of our food-loving friends here in the U.S. very well-aware of these tasty condiments.
Are there different types?
Yes, many Lao Gan Ma products have emerged over the years, but there are three main types that are most popular from our perspective. Everyone has their favorite!
1. Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil with Black Bean
The undisputed favorite in our family, this chili sauce was our first introduction to Lao Gan Ma sauces. The mixture of chilies and preserved black beans has such rich umami flavors. It remains one of our favorite jarred sauces to put on just about anything!
2. Lao Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp:
This is probably the most popular Lao Gan Ma product outside of China. It combines chilies and fermented soybeans with garlic and onions. The sauce does have an irresistibly “crisp” texture.
3. Lao Gan Ma Hot Chili Sauce:
One of the brand’s most unique varieties, this has chili, peanut, fried beancurd, and preserved root vegetable (the label says it’s rutabaga), to create a uniquely crunchy texture and rich flavor.
How Is It Used?
We really can’t talk enough about how much we LOVE this sauce. It’s affectionately known around here as “lady sauce.” We coined that nickname when we first noted the same stern-faced lady on every jar.
The Woks of Life clan uses this sauce for just about anything. We use the Chili Sauce with Black Bean most often, as a condiment for fried rice, stir-fried noodles, pan-fried noodles, noodle soups, and dumplings.
We’ve also developed several recipes that use it (scroll down to the bottom of this post for links).
Buying & Storing
You can find these chili sauces wherever Chinese ingredients are sold. You can also buy it online from several sellers, though as with all Chinese packaged products found on Amazon it seems, it will be significantly more expensive than in-store prices.
Refrigerate these sauces after opening and always use a clean utensil when handling. We find it can last in the fridge for up to 6 months. Honestly, though, it never really lasts that long.
Our Favorite Recipes That Use This Ingredient
You can also use it as a condiment for these dishes:
- Shrimp Fried Rice
- Pineapple Fried Rice
- Pork Fried Rice
- Braised Beef Noodle Soup
- Or whatever you want really!
If you have further questions about this ingredient, let us know in the comments.
Hi Judy, I found an unopened jar of Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp in my pantry that has a best before of May 19 2020, how I missed the bottle I have no idea. Have you ever had the chili oil past the best before date?
Hi Sinthura, it’s safest to follow the best by date. In our own personal experience, we have had it a few months longer than the printed date without issue.
Do check the bottle cap to make sure it’s still flat and caved inward, it should be fine if it’s as I described. But I do have to say that following the best by date on the label is safest!
What are the 10 types of spices we should have in the pantry for making most of the Chinese dishes?
Hi Neerja, here is what we recommend :-)
Sorry but I’m a bit confused about the Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil With Black Bean and the Lao Gan Ma Black Bean sauce. I have a recipe where the oil is on the list of ingredients but in the instructions it refers to it as sauce? Now I’m not sure which one I should be using.
Hi Joy, can you tell me which recipe so I can better answer your question?
I’ve seen versions being sold of Lao Gan Ma with chicken and some with pork. I know most others don’t contain meat (e.g. chili crisp, with black bean, etc.), but as a vegetarian should I be concerned with cross contamination at the factory? Do you think it’s safe to eat the non-met versions?
Hi Junaid, I have visited many factories in China (not food related) to know that different product lines usually have their own floor or building. The production capacity for lao gan ma as a brand is pretty extensive, so I think it’s pretty safe to eat the non-meat versions. With that said, I can’t guarantee that, because I have not visited their factories :-)
I have spent all day reading your blog and going through all of your recipes, and I am so enjoying all of it. Of course, I didn’t get anything else done in the house, haha!
Thank you so much for your love and support :-)
I just bought the LAO GAN MA CHILI OIL WITH BLACK BEAN and somehow I thought it would be hotter. Nice texture and flavour but not very spicy 🙁
I’ll be sure to pass on your disappointment to the maker :-)
I love your blog!
Thank you, Christine.