It is called Lao Gan Ma and is sold in glass jars with a red lid and label, with a portrait of an enigmatic lady and a relatively short list of ingredients.
Inside, we see a thick dark red oil covering a lot of good sized chili flakes and seeds.
How has it become the product that fascinates both amateur gourmets and the specialized press?
We analyze the sauce trend of the moment, we tell you its peculiar history and -of course- we cook with it from very simple dishes to more elaborate recipes.
What does it consist of?
It is a seasoning, more or less spicy depending on the variety, based on soybean oil, chili flakes and other ingredients that change with each variety, created by Tao Huabi, a native of Guizhou.
Although the recipe is top secret - we will elaborate on this later - due to the flavor and texture it seems that they use the classic Chinese technique of blanching in oil, which consists of pouring boiling oil over chili, garlic and other ingredients so that they lose part of their strength and integrate its flavors, without the risk of burning and souring or spoiling.
It has a characteristic aroma, more spicy than spicy and is capable of awakening the appetite.
Although originally Guizhou chili peppers were used, since the creator's son took over they were replaced by smaller and drier Henan chilies.
There was a great controversy on the part of the consumers, who even said that the sauce had lost its essence, until Tao Huabi regained control of the company (and with it the original chilies returned).
His story
The story of Lao Gan Ma - which we could translate as "old godmother" - and its creator Tao Huabi is a Chinese version of the classic American dream.
Huabi was born in 1947 in Meitan, a small town in Guizhou, a very humble province close to Sichuan (and also famous for its spicy and spicy food).
She was the eighth daughter of a family with few resources, she married when she was barely 20 years old, she soon had two children and a time later she was left a widow.
He was in his early 40s when he managed to raise the money to move to Guangzhou and start his own business: a humble restaurant called Shi Hui - really humble;
it was little more than a cart in a shed - serving cold noodles accompanied by a delicious sauce with a secret recipe of its own.
Tao Huabi's face, even in the soup.
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Popular prices and generous servings made local students frequent Tao Huabi's stall very often, and she - who hadn't been able to study too much either - helped with discounts or free food to those with less money: that's where earned the nickname Lao Gan Ma. While noodles were sold simply to fill the stomach, the popularity of Old Godmother's sauce grew so much that she first started selling take out jars from her own stall, and then ended up selling it as well. to other restaurants in the area.
In 1994 the stall grew and changed its name to Guiyang Nanming Taoshi Flavor Food Store, with the business already focused on the sale of sauces;
two years later, and now with the official name of Lao Gan Ma, he set up a small company with 40 employees, the germ of what would be his current empire, in which a whopping 1.3 million bottles are produced daily, which They are distributed worldwide in more than 30 countries.
Huabi has an estimated personal fortune of more than a billion dollars, and in 2018 she was named by Forbes as one of the top 20 women entrepreneurs in China (at number 17, among CEOs and directors of technology companies, banks and others) .
In case it still seems to anyone that these sauces are taken as a joke in China, you should know that in 2017, according to Xavier Fontdeglòria from
El País
in Beijing, they arrested “a man with the last name Jia, suspected of having revealed to another company the secret sauce formula, according to local media ”.
What triggered suspicions of plagiarism was the appearance of very similar sauces on the market, made in at least one case "according to the same secret techniques of Laoganma."
According to investigators, Jia started working with another condiment manufacturer in the area, exactly after working for Huabi for 12 years, with whom she had signed a confidentiality agreement.
"If convicted of leaking trade secrets, the accused faces a sentence of between three and seven years in prison," Fontdeglòria concludes in the news.
Why is it so successful?
If you ask yourself that, it is very likely that you have never tried it: it is something that is understood since the first teaspoon that goes to your food.
The combination of the crunchy chili flakes, much tastier than spicy, the right amount of oil -and mild flavor;
it works more as a transmitter - and the different toppings have a really delicate balance, capable of enhancing just about any ingredient it comes with.
Even ice cream (we don't say so, the
New York Times
says so
, although we couldn't agree more).
In
The Guardian
, where they consider it one of the gastronomic trends of 2021, they believe that Lao Gan Ma's fame "continues to grow by recommendation", and that it has come to make Chinese-looking packaging fashionable.
Paul Michalski, managing director of Lao Gan Ma's European distributor, Liroy BV, believes that in large part it is due to “the growing number of Chinese students in Europe who are turning their non-Chinese friends into this magical potion,” an increase that is set to par in the United States.
Behind this growth there is not an orchestrated advertising campaign, but an inexpensive product that is spread by the classic but always effective word of mouth.
With vegetables it is great.
MÒNICA ESCUDERO
Could its MSG content have something to do with its success?
With the jar of its most popular version in hand, I see that it contains 40% oil, 30% fermented soybeans, and 25% chili flakes and seeds.
The two remaining ingredients are sugar in the penultimate place, and the flavor enhancer in the last place, which means that at most it can have 2.4 grams of it per 100. The same amount as a supermarket snack, with the difference of that here one the servings go by teaspoons, and not bags of 100 grams (and more).
Some of the easiest varieties to find
Spicy oil or spicy bean sauce:
The most popular, the easiest to find and - for me - also the tastiest, thanks to the fermented soybeans that give it an all-important umami kick.
It contains SOYA oil, chili, onions, fermented soybeans, salt, Sichuan pepper, sugar and flavor enhancer.
Peanuts in Spicy Oil:
Swap the soybeans for peanuts, and it has a little less Sichuan pepper.
If you like peanuts, you have succeeded.
Kohlrabi, peanut and tofu in chili oil:
like the previous one, but with fermented kohlrabi, another of my favorites.
More veggie enchiladas.
MÒNICA ESCUDERO
With chicken flavor:
remove the peanuts and add garlic, a few cubes of dehydrated tofu -a bit hard, unless it is used in soups- and a chicken aroma (excessive, it tastes like Avecrem).
Beef flavored:
like before, adding fermented soybeans and beef flavor (very invasive too).
Tomato and chili:
Tomato, chili, garlic, flavor enhancer, salt and sugar.
He doesn't play in the same league, he's a kind of weird tomato sauce.
Where to buy it
In any Asian food store you can find Lao Gan Ma, and surely more than one variety.
You can also find it in some stores of not especially exotic products run by Chinese;
they can easily have some sauces, noodles, and other staples for sale, even if it's a greengrocer or grocery store.
Prices are usually between 2.75 and 3.25 euros, depending on the variety and the place where they are bought (in online stores it is usually a little more expensive, but it is a good option if you do not have an Asian store to hand).
How to use it on a day-to-day basis: the no-recipes
It has so many applications that it is more difficult to say what you cannot do with it than what you can.
Think of it as a concentrated dressing ready to add flavor to just about anything you cook (which doesn't mean you have to add it to everything, obviously).
For example, mixed with lemon or lime - although in China they use different types of vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and chives - it is a great dressing for all kinds of steamed, grilled or grilled fish.
In general, any lean preparation will come up with the little bit of crunchiness and fat - little - that it contributes, from a grilled loin to rice noodles or brown rice with sautéed vegetables.
Put it in scrambled eggs and in any Asian-style soup (or turn any soup into an Asian-style thanks to it, which can also be done), or season the vinegary sauce on dumplings or rolls.
Every spoonful is a delicacy.
MÒNICA ESCUDERO
Add only the solid part, slightly drained with the same spoon with which you take it, to this peanut sauce for vegetables and noodles and you will win whole.
Also well drained, add some of the chili to a melted cheese sandwich with pickles and you will enjoy every bite.
To top off a vegetable cream or a plate of legumes, to dress the olives or anchovies for the appetizer or to mix with the mayonnaise that you are going to eat with some cooked prawns.
Does it seem little to you?
Try it as a quick topping for some green beans with carrot, onion and egg or for roasted vegetables of all kinds;
I especially like it with aubergines and carrots.
Three recipes to get the most out of it
FRIED RICE WITH EGG AND CHIVES
Ingredients
For 4 people
1.5 glasses of round grain rice
4-6 happy chicken eggs
8 scallions
Lao gan Ma to taste
Salt or soy sauce
Mild oil
Preparation
Rinse the rice in a colander under running water until it stops coming out cloudy.
If you like, let it soak for about 20 minutes before cooking.
Put the drained rice in a saucepan and add two glasses of water at room temperature.
Stir the casserole so that the rice is level.
Bring the water to a boil, uncovered, and over medium heat.
When it boils, cover and boil for about 20 minutes, until all the water has been absorbed;
remove and let stand 10 more minutes.
In a wok or a large hot frying pan, add a little neutral oil and the rice.
Without stopping sautéing, add the eggs, salt or soybeans and stir well;
when they are set add the chives and the Laoganma and give the last turns.
Serve immediately.
BRAVAS "MIXTAS" LAOGANMA
Ingredients
For 4 people
About 800 g of potato to taste
Ajonesa, lactonesa with garlic or all i oli to taste
Olive or sunflower oil for frying
Salt
Lao Gan Ma to taste
Preparation
Prepare the ajonesa, lactonesa with garlic or all i oli to taste following the instructions of each article.
Peel the potatoes, cut them into cubes and prepare as desired: they can be boiled first and then fried, confit and then deep fried or fried as is.
Serve the potatoes well drained with salt, a few tablespoons of the garlic sauce and top with Laoganma to taste.
SPICED TOFUNESA WITH ROASTED VEGETABLES
Ingredients
For 4 people
For the tofunesa
250 g firm silk tofu
4 tablespoons olive oil (mild or potent, to taste)
3 tablespoons of cold water (or a little more, if you use a little lemon juice or vinegar or the tofu is very dry)
Salt
2 or 3 tablespoons vinegar (or to taste)
Lao Gan Ma to taste
What's more
Roasted vegetables to taste
Preparation
In a mixing glass, put the tofu with the oil, the water, a little vinegar and a little salt.
Blend and adjust the texture and flavor by adding the necessary water and seasonings (very little by little so as not to overdo it).
When the tofunesa is ready, add Laoganma - already mixing with a fork - until we find the point we like.
Serve with roasted vegetables to taste.