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.
I was looking for Sichuan chili bean paste (aka spicy doubanjiang) for some recipe found in Internet. And I found this brand, Bean Paste in Chili Oil (210g) Then another sauce of this bran, Preserved Black Beans in Chili Oil. (280g) So my first question is: do they the same thing but different names due to some rebranding? Do they what I was looking for: Sichuan chili bean paste? There is also a jar of Crispy Chili Oil (210g) and Crispy Chili in Oil (same thing or not?) and Chicken Chili Oil (280g) Peanuts in Chili Oil, with tofu. So many different sauces, I am getting confused and I want them all :-D
Hi there! All those chili oils you mentioned aren’t actually that close to doubanjiang; they are condiments rather than cooking ingredients. My personal favorite is the Preserved black bean in chili oil. If you’re looking for doubanjiang, look for these characters on the jar/label: 辣豆瓣酱
Is there a substitute for Taohuabi flavor spicy chopped pepper ?
Hi Evelyn, not sure which product you’re referring to—do you mean the duo jiao peppers? We do have a homemade version of that: https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-make-hunan-salted-chilies-duo-jiao/
Besides Lao Gan Ma, are there other brands of chili you can recommend? Whenever I go to 99 Ranch market, there are all these jars and cans of foods that I have no idea what they are, how they taste, and how to use them. Thanks.
Hi Reggie, check out our sauces/vinegars/oils page of our Ingredients Glossary! https://thewoksoflife.com/chinese-ingredients-glossary/chinese-sauces-vinegars-oils/
I’m surprised to see you recommend refrigeration, particularly for the chili crisp, since I’ve never known that to need refrigeration. Doesn’t the oil solidify?
It doesn’t solidify in the fridge, Lauren—we like to refrigerate it so it lasts longer.
I ordered a jar of Lao Gan Ma “Chili Oil with Black Bean” at an online store. (No Asian markets around here.) What they sent is something called “Chili Oil with Fermented Soybeans” (also Lao Gan Ma). Some sites that I’m seeing that sell this are using the names interchangeably, some show a bottle of the black bean sauce, but describe the fermented soybean sauce, or vice versa.
The ingredients aren’t quite the same, nor is the nutrition statement. (The nutrition statement on this bottle has everything also listed in Chinese, unlike photos of the chili black bean sauce.)
All that is to say, I think they sent me the wrong stuff? I was wondering if you’d ever tried this, or if I should send it back.
I *think* it might be the same thing, and they have changed the name/label for the U.S. market? I’ve read reviews where people asked why they got the fermented soybean sauce when ordering the chili sauce. The serving size is half the black bean version, which would explain why the nutrition statement is so different. lol, I’m just DYING to open and finally try this stuff, but I don’t want to, in case I need to send it back!
Hi Julie, it is indeed different from the black bean version, and it sounds like they did send the wrong thing if you ordered the “chili oil with black bean. However, it’s still delicious. Whether or not to return it is up to you, but you could use it as a condiment just like the black bean version!
I’ve never been one of those folks who collect hot sauces- I have a well-honed, rational fear of unknown Asian spicy things as well (I’m lookin’ at you, SE Asia), so I’ve always passed up these rather intimidating red jars.
After reading up on the Chili Crisp, I eventually grabbed one on a whim and it was really not what I expected. It’s a lot more oniony and a lot less spicy than it looks, and I could heap tablespoon after tablespoon of the stuff over rice, compared to say, an OG Indonesian sambal or even Tabasco sauce, where a teaspoon is heat enough for me. I found that I used it a lot like furikake, perking up a bowl of rice with a fried egg, rather than already seasoned dishes, since it’s soooo flavorful it will overwhelm everything.
The only downside is that the jar leaves an oily mess wherever it goes LOL. Well, THIS slob is grateful to have yet another condiment demystified.
Haha nice! Yes your’e right that sometimes the jar can get messy. You can wipe it down with a vinegar/water solution and a paper towel (the vinegar cuts through the oil), and then it’ll stay clean as long as you don’t get drips over the jar. It’s definitely not super spicy—none of the laoganma sauces are! It’s more about flavor than spice! :)
We always have at least two of these jars at home at all times in case one runs out! My personal favourite has always been the crispy chilli one! And when I was a poor student, a regular on the menu would be Lao gan ma fried rice!
Haha love that!
My two favorites are Fried Chili in Oil, It also has peanuts, and Tomato Chili sauce. That
sauce I could eat right out of the jar. Unfortunately it seems to be discontinued. Do you know how to make a substitue?
Hi Marie, not sure about that — we’ve never seen that one! We’ll keep our ears and eyes opened though…