I don't think I've mentioned this before, but our next door neighbor who moved in several years ago is from Hawaii! She's wonderful as is her pup Kai. Her sister, who lives in West Virginia (!!!!) is a talented cook and she recently gifted us with some Chili Crisp she made when she was visiting. Needless to say the Missus loves the stuff, especially on boiled and fried eggs. So naturally, this made the Missus have me buy a couple of different brands to see how they taste.
So, I hope you don't mind a silly post for tonight comparing the various versions I recently bought.
So, left to right:
We were shopping at Marukai….the shop that used to be Marukai Living and is now Marukai "Japanese Grocery". They were having one of their rotating regional Japanese fairs and we saw some rayu that looked like Chili Crisp. I believe it's called Don Don Surprise. While shopping at Trader Joe's we picked up the Chili Onion Crunch. And while recently shopping at Costco, I came across Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp.
The Missus had been using these to flavor different things and noticed a tremendous difference in these three. So, She wanted to do a side-by-side comparison. So I made some roasted smashed baby potatoes and we had at it.
From left to right – follows the photos of the jars. The fourth is the home made version, which we actually liked for the ma-la balance and the strong garlic tones. We'll miss this when it's gone.
As for the retail versions; here's the Missus's favorites
1 – Fly by Jing – Has the most spice, you can also make out fermented black beans. This would work well on any Sichuan style dish. Good ma-la with a savory complexity as well. It's also the most expensive. Gonna love this on cold noodles when the weather gets warmer and cucumber. Not sure about putting it on Vanilla Ice Cream though?
2 – Don Don Surprise – Mildest in terms of spice, but good amount of sesame oil. There's a mild beany flavor to things and I saw Gochujang and Miso on the ingredient list. Good topping for noodle soups.
3 – Trader Joe's Chili Onion Crunch – Had the most "crunch" of them all, but wasn't very spicy, and had the least amount of complexity. Looking at the label revealed that a host of dried vegetables (dried onion, garlic, red bell peppers) provided all the crunch. But this was really weak and I probably won't be buying it again.
I'm sure we'll be trying other versions as we find them.
Have you been checking our different versions of Chili Crisps/Oil? If so, what are your favorites!
Have a great weekend everyone!
Yes, mini huaraches with adobo rabbit. Loved the mild adobada seasoning with the "corny" huarachitos, the acidity of the salsa verde, and the calming avocado salsa. Even though the rabbit was on the chewy side, the interplay of flavors was quite nice.
The eggs were nice and runny. The chiptole harissa flavoring was interesting, not as acidic, quite smoky. Man, that baguette was quite good as well. This prep really brought out the citrus-peppery tones of the cilantro.
The place had one table going when I arrived. The young lady working was quite cheerful and I looked over the menu. I came to the "rice plate" portion of the menu and realized I hadn't ever tried any of those dishes. So, I figured I'd go for the gusto and have the rice plate with "Bi, Cha, Thit, Dau Hu Ky" (shredded pork skin, grilled pork, steamed meat loaf, and fried bean curd). Which, in the typical Mignon Pho "not to offend" was called ahem, "Yummy in my Tummy" ($15.75) on the menu. I placed my order, did my shopping and returned. After a five minute wait I was food to go. The young man bringing me my order even apologized for having me wait a few minutes!
Well, if you're keeping score this is how it went. I really prefer this dish with com tam, broken rice which lends a nice texture and fragrance to the dish. This one used Jasmine rice which would have been perfectly fine if it wasn't so dry and hard, like it hadn't been cooked long enough.
The skin on the Roast Pork was slightly crisp, but the flavor was way too sweet and the flesh was too hard and chewy. The skin on the roast duck wasn’t bad, the fat had been rendered nicely, unfortunately this too was quite bland and tough.
Well, the portion size of the chicken katsu, which I've always thought was quite large is now two-thirds the size. Which is big enough for me. As on previous visits, it looked like it had been fried for too long a time based on the color, but this wasn't too bad. The breading while being hard instead of crisp, wasn't peeling off and the chicken was decently moist, though a bit on the tough side. And best of all, it had some flavor.
I noticed that ordering here is done strictly with QR codes, something that I've gotten used to in my travels.
The broth was clear and lacking in beefiness, was overly salty, and pretty "plain". The beef while a bit on the chewy side, had good flavor.
You can tell one was pan fried a bit longer than the other. The crusts were hard and chewy; like a good amount of rice flour was used. The beef filling was very tasty though and a good dash of block vinegar helped things along. These were pretty small overall.
Actually, these were not bad, even though I got the Beef-onion instead of what I ordered.. The wrappers were a bit on the brittle side, in need of a bit more "pull". A couple of them had burst during the cooking process. This caused the fillings of the dumplings to become "waterlogged" during the boiling process.
I actually wanted to check out the cathedral. Apparently, the oldest existing 
Which seemed to be a combination of charred and dried. The flavors were quite intense and the crunchy texture quite interesting. The ricotta gnudi was a nice mildly acidic-cheesy addition which added a textural contrast to the dish along with a good milkiness. It was the Missus's favorite item of the evening.
We found this to be on the bland side in spite of the Sherry Beurre Blanc, the Cardamom Phyllo was soggy when it hit the table and this was just a bunch of root vegetables in a bland sauce. Not quite worth the $32 for the dish.
It was a pleasant stop and we'd eat here again if in the area. And we saw Jean Pierre walk to the dining area and engage in a lively conversation with another gentleman……in full on French. The Missus and I loved it!
Man, this place was quite busy. The lines did move quickly though. The Missus bought some chocolates and a couple of bags of "elixirs" and we headed on out.
Well, to be more specific; it's about the staircase in the chapel. The construction of the Lorreto Chapel was completed in 1878. Unfortunately, due to some weird "oversight", there was no way to reach the choir loft which was 22 feet above. After many consultations the Sisters of Loretto were told that the only way to access the choir loft would be by ladder as a staircase would interfere with the design of the chapel. At wits end, the Sisters started praying to the 
