Chili Crisp Calamari
the spicy confessions of an addict
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My one major food takeaway from covid is Lao Gan Ma Chili Crisp. Everyone else can rhapsodize about the sourdough bread phenomena or some other crazy food fad. I eat everything drenched with chili crisp.
My chili crisp addiction has gotten so bad I started buying it by the case to avoid running out. I laugh at that last statement because I believe I read somewhere that Lao Gan Ma produces 1.4 million jars a day — I only eat 1. The chances of a chili crisp drought are low.
origins of my recipe
One of my favorite local restaurants, Doc Ponds, serves a calamari dish they call ‘old school calamari’. It’s sauteed calamari in a spicy Calabrian chili paste that explodes with flavor. Every time we order it I want to lick the bowl clean to get every last drop of the chili paste.
I got home and started experimenting with the chili citrus flavors and came up with my own version using Lao Gan Ma chili crisp — arguably the best chili crisp on planet Earth. At this point, you probably are wondering why a site dedicated to French food is doing this recipe? It isn’t French. The flavor profiles are wildly different. I would answer quite simply — who doesn’t love Lao Gan Ma chili crisp?
Expand your taste buds. Every culture has its own set of amazing flavors and dishes. The joy of life is we all can celebrate everyone else’s culture at our own tables. Good food is good food. Now go throw a big spoonful of chili crisp on whatever you are eating!
At the risk of sounding rather Gumpish: I put it on my morning vegetables, I put it on my pasta, I put it on my eggs, I put it on my calamari.
Chili Crisp Calamari
PREP: 5 minutes | COOK: 10 minutes | SERVES: 2 (if you have to share)
ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic cut GoodFellas thin
