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Fragrant-Hot Roasted Ground Chilies (Sichuan Chili Flakes, Xiang La La Jiao Mian)
$15
Sichuan’s traditional three-chili blend
Three of Sichuan’s favorite chilies are combined in a perfect ratio to be highly flavorful and moderately hot. They are then roasted in rapeseed oil to deepen their aroma and color before they are coarsely ground into a mix of flakes, powder and seeds that lends a deep red hue to chili oils and spicy Sichuan dishes.
Our blend of chilies is the most traditional in Sichuan cooking and is called xiang la, or fragrant hot. Each chili is chosen for the specific characteristics it brings to the blend:
Er jing tiao: very strong coloring ability, strong fragrance
Zi dan tou: strong coloring ability, strong fragrance, moderate spiciness
The ratio of chilies in this blend is fine-tuned to be highly fragrant and deeply red but only moderately hot, since Sichuan cooks use chilies and chili oils in abundance and prize the flavor and color as much as the heat.
Sichuan chili oils have a high ratio of oil to chili flakes because the oil is a basic pantry essential, often used to dress "liangcai" cold dishes and salads, as well as noodles, dumplings, wontons and more. A powerful chili blend such as this one is selected to color and flavor the oil in smaller proportions, creating a ruby red oil with less ground chilies.
However, the blend is also ideal for making chili crisps and crunches, where it will not be overpowering or over spicy even when the ratio of chilies to oil is much higher. Despite the addition of other ingredients in a chili crisp, the result is only as good as its chili base.
Made to order for us in small batches, this blend includes only chilies and oil. No salt, dyes, preservatives, fillers or anti-caking agents are added.
Cultivation + Processing
Our xiang la blend is made in Chengdu from chilies grown in Sichuan’s neighboring Guizhou Province, the chili capital of China. Guizhou chilies are the most prized in China and most used in Sichuan.
The chilies are sun-dried by the farmers and then further dehydrated to the perfect moisture level, but never irradiated. They remain soft and pliable after drying, so the manufacturer lightly roasts whole dried chilies in rapeseed oil to crisp them up as well as intensify flavor with a tinge of roastiness. They are then ground in small batches, freshly made to order for us. The coarse grind retains large pieces of chili intermixed with chili powder and seeds, the preferred texture for making chili oil.
No salt, dyes, preservatives or anti-caking agents are added.
Compare To
While other regions of the world grow chilies and use chili flakes, there are large variations in chili types and processing. The chilies in this blend are the ones used in Sichuan cooking, and Sichuan recipes were created using these varieties, so when you cook with them you get the intended taste and heat level in your dishes. Thai chili flakes, for example, are too hot for Sichuan food, and Italian and Korean flakes are too mild.
Most importantly, these ground chilies are made differently, as they are roasted first and ground coarsely to contain both large chili flakes and chili powder, while most “chili flakes” are crushed chilies with little to no powder. Older Chinese recipes in the U.S. often call for both chili flakes and chili powder, separately, as that’s what’s been available. Our Sichuan-made blend is comprised of flakes, seeds and powder from the same chilies. We call it ground chilies, as the manufacturer does, to convey that it is more than flakes.
Finally, our stock is always fresh, a difference you can smell and taste.
How To Use It
Manufactured chili oil cannot compare with homemade chili oil/crisp in freshness or in customization to your own tastes. But it’s key to start with the right dried chilies and/or ground chilies.
In Sichuan, chili oil is made from a blend of whole dried chilies that are roasted or fried until crisp and then pounded in a large mortar and pestle before they are combined with hot oil. You can make yours that way using a combination of whole chilies we carry here, or you can let the chili pros in Chengdu do the proportioning, frying and grinding, as they have for this blend.
As a general guide
This versatile blend is made especially to be the base of chili oils and crisps. For a Sichuan-style chili oil, we recommend a ratio between 5:1 and 3:1 oil to ground chilies.
Fragrant-hot ground chilies also can be used in any Chinese recipe that calls for chili flakes. It will add not only heat but color and flavor to stir-fries and braises such as mapo tofu.
It makes the perfect base for a Sichuan shao kao BBQ spice blend, or any grilling/roasting spice blend.
Storage
Our ground chilies contain no additives or preservatives. Store in a cool, dark, dry place. For longer term storage, seal package well and freeze.
Ingredients + Nutrition
Size: 200g (7 oz); 2 cups by volume
Ingredients: single-origin, non-irradiated chilies (er jing tiao chili, facing heaven zi dan tou chili, xiao mi la chili), roasted rapeseed oil
No salt, dyes, preservatives, fillers or anti-caking agents are added.
While these chilies are not certified organic, which is a rarity in China, they have been double tested—once in China and again by us in a U.S. lab—for microbial activity, toxins and heavy metals. They test as exceptionally clean, far below the acceptable levels specified by the FDA and California's Prop 65 law.
