A pictorial guide to Chinese cooking ingredients

[Anna N]

It is a Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) chile sauce.

The black writing at the bottom reads 风味鸡油辣椒 which means "Tasty Chicken Fat Chile Sauce"

Thank you so very much. Can you tell us where and how this might be used?

There are many different labels on this brand of sauces. Is there any key to help us westerners figure out what is what?

[Dejah]

I use it as a dipping condiment with noodles in any form: soup, stir-fry, dumplings, anything savoury. Love the heat, crunch, and sometimes the peanuts in the sauce.

I am sure you can use it in stir-fries too, for that kick.

[Shalmanese]

I like lao gan ma but I've found that it doesn't seem to play well with others. Anything you mix it in tastes unmistakably like lao gan ma and that has to be the effect you're after. It's never been a general purpose condiment to me the same way sriachia or soy sauce is for example.

[liuzhou]

It is a Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) chile sauce.

The black writing at the bottom reads 风味鸡油辣椒 which means "Tasty Chicken Fat Chile Sauce"

First apologies. My translation is a bit off. Omit the work "sauce" at the end. I was in a bit of a rush to get to work.

The company themselves translate it as "Flavoured chicken chillli" and list the ingredients as chicken, chilli, vegetable oil, gourmet powder (MSG), salt、sugar、sesame oil 、prickly ash (Sichuan Peppercorns). The italics are my additions.

There are many different labels on this brand of sauces. Is there any key to help us westerners figure out what is what?

Yes, They have a website in English here.

Can you tell us where and how this might be used?

As has been said, as a dipping sauce or to perk up s stir fry. It's used fairly indiscriminately. I never use any of the Lao Gan Ma products. They are slapped onto nearly everything, much like tomato ketchup in the west. I would be happy never to see or smell or taste them again! Sorry.

[Hassouni]

I will concur with others than the LGM stuff has a VERY distinctive taste - I don't really use it much in cooking - only as a condiment where it's taste will complement the food rather than clash with it.

[jsager01]

i would translate 风味鸡油辣a as chicken-flavor chilli oil (or chicken -flavored chill oil) Yes, they manufacture many (too many if you ask me) of differently flavored chilli oils. The one that i use is just labelled as 油辣椒 (chilli oil). I had previously also used 香辣脆油辣椒 fragrant spicy(hot) crispy chilli oil.

i have not used the chicken-flavor chilli oil, and i doubt if there is any real chicken in it - much like if there is fish in a recipe for flsh-flavored aubergines. Isnt there a label on the bottle that lists all the ingredients in English? In EU we have additional labels stuck to the bottle that lists all the ingredients in about 5 or 6 languages.

and lao gan ma means old god mother.

[liuzhou]

I just checked a jar (in China) this noon. The Chinese ingredients list includes Chicken (鸡肉).

[Anna N]

It is a Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) chile sauce.

The black writing at the bottom reads 风味鸡油辣椒 which means "Tasty Chicken Fat Chile Sauce"

First apologies. My translation is a bit off. Omit the work "sauce" at the end. I was in a bit of a rush to get to work.

The company themselves translate it as "Flavoured chicken chillli" and list the ingredients as chicken, chilli, vegetable oil, gourmet powder (MSG), salt、sugar、sesame oil 、prickly ash (Sichuan Peppercorns). The italics are my additions.

There are many different labels on this brand of sauces. Is there any key to help us westerners figure out what is what?

Yes, They have a website in English here.

Can you tell us where and how this might be used?

As has been said, as a dipping sauce or to perk up s stir fry. It's used fairly indiscriminately. I never use any of the Lao Gan Ma products. They are slapped onto nearly everything, much like tomato ketchup in the west. I would be happy never to see or smell or taste them again! Sorry.

Thank you so very much. Anna

[huiray]

BTW, Anna_N (and jameswilliam), the characters in white at the top of the bottle label 中国驰名商标 (or, if in Traditional Chinese: 中國馳名商標) basically says "China famous (or renowned) trademark".

[hzrt8w]

Lao Gan Ma (老干妈) is the brand name. They do have different products, all using "old god mom"'s picture in the label.

Personally I think their chili staff is a bit overly MSG-ish. Taste good but I don't use too much in one setting. Typically as a condiment/add-on when eating soup noodles and such. You can certainly use it for cooking if you like.

This jar - the label said "chicken oil" chili. Supposedly they used chicken fat. I think they do, but not entirely 100% chicken fat. Probably some. I don't think they would add chicken meat in it though.

[liuzhou]

I don't think they would add chicken meat in it though.

Seems unlikely but it is there in the ingredients list in the domestic version .

Is it listed on export versions in places with stricter rules/ controls?

[Anna N]

I don't think they would add chicken meat in it though.

Seems unlikely but it is there in the ingredients list in the domestic version .

Is it listed on export versions in places with stricter rules/ controls?

Usually there is an ingredient list in English on these sauces but it's lacking on this jar.

[liuzhou]

Is there an ingredient list in Chinese? Or any other language?

[Anna N]

Is there an ingredient list in Chinese? Or any other language?

Would this be it?

[liuzhou]

Yes. The rightmost two columns (top two in your picture) contain the ingredients. Same as the domestic version.

It includes 鸡肉 (带骨) which means chicken meat (on the bone).

Looks like the translation sticker fell off. I would have thought it was a legal necessity.

Edited October 17, 2013 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

A side discussion on the Dinner 2024 topic promoted this.

 

Chinese cooks, from the most elevated chefs to the home cook and all the way down to this crazy foreigner in their midst, swear by 鸡粉 (jī fěn), chicken powder.

 

 

It is used to enhance or even make stocks or braising liquids; it is sprinkled on stir fries and other dishes like any other seasoning; it is added to drinks. I've even seen it added to cocktails. Anywhere umami is wanted.

 

Knorr and other western brands can be found in China but are not particularly popular. Lee Kum Kee was mentioned but I've never seen that particular LKK product in China. KKK products, which I have never rated, are more popular abroad.

 

So, I thought it may be useful to mention the most popular brands here, some of which are likely to be available in Asian markets.

 

Before doing so, I will say that most Chinese brands unashamedly contain MSG. I have no intention of resurrecting that horse which is not only dead but has been utterly cremated, mourned, disinterred and reburied several times before. Nothing wrong with MSG.

 

So, some brands.

 

 

厨邦 (chú bāng) means 'kitchen nation'. It is medium level brand with less of a pronounced flavour as some of the others below. Certainly not first choice.

 

 

大桥 (dà qiáo) means 'great bridge' and while their powder is fine I wouldn't extend that to 'great' among the following.

 

 

太太乐 (tài tai lè) Mrs Le. Mrs Happy is a popular brand which I happily put in second place. Umami rich with a good chicken flavor.

 

 

百家鲜 (bǎi jiā xiǎn) literally means '100 households' choice', but 百 also just means 'all kinds of'. All kinds of households' choice. It is certainly the biggest seller.

 

It smells and tastes like roast chicken straight from the oven. I'd bet of the 96 apartments in my block, 90% have a pack in the kitchen. I buy it in 1kg tubs and am never without it. Restaurants buy it by the sack load.

 

Edited February 6 by liuzhou (log)

[KennethT]

Thanks for this.  While I use the Lee Kum Kee "premium" chicken powder, it's not because it's so great but really it's the best of what I can get.  It's certainly better than western brands like Knorr.

 

Interesting (at least to me) in parts of SE Asia - most notably Indonesia, but possibly elsewhere - not only do they use chicken powder, but they also use chicken granules.  I'm not exactly sure what they are or how they differ from the standard powder but I've even seen recipes that use both so I'm assuming that there is some kind of difference.  If possible, I'll try to investigate further when I'm in Indonesia in July but I doubt I'll get far, my Bahasa isn't nearly good enough for those kinds of conversations!

[liuzhou]

24 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Thanks for this.  While I use the Lee Kum Kee "premium" chicken powder, it's not because it's so great but really it's the best of what I can get.  It's certainly better than western brands like Knorr.

 

Interesting (at least to me) in parts of SE Asia - most notably Indonesia, but possibly elsewhere - not only do they use chicken powder, but they also use chicken granules.  I'm not exactly sure what they are or how they differ from the standard powder but I've even seen recipes that use both so I'm assuming that there is some kind of difference.  If possible, I'll try to investigate further when I'm in Indonesia in July but I doubt I'll get far, my Bahasa isn't nearly good enough for those kinds of conversations!

 

I vaguely remember seeing chicken granules here but I just searched my online shopping options and the only chicken granules I can find are cat food!

 

The Bahasa to ask the difference between powder and granules is something like "Apa perbedaan antara bubuk ayam dan butiran ayam?" but then you have to figure out the answer for yourself.

 

I suppose the granules are just bigger grains but that wouldn't account for using both, unless they are bits of dried chicken flesh like you get in some chicken flavour instant noodles, but I'm really guessing now.

 

 

[Duvel]

1 hour ago, KennethT said:

I'm not exactly sure what they are or how they differ from the standard powder but I've even seen recipes that use both so I'm assuming that there is some kind of difference.

 

Most likely they are just chicken powder formulated that way to withstand higher humidity environments. Chicken powder containing a fair amount of salts will be mildly hygroscopic, so formulating them in granules will reduce the surface area and retard (undesired) clumping ...

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

I vaguely remember seeing chicken granules here but I just searched my online shopping options and the only chicken granules I can find are cat food!

 

The Bahasa to ask the difference between powder and granules is something like "Apa perbedaan antara bubuk ayam dan butiran ayam?" but then you have to figure out the answer for yourself.

 

I suppose the granules are just bigger grains but that wouldn't account for using both, unless they are bits of dried chicken flesh like you get in some chicken flavour instant noodles, but I'm really guessing now.

 

 

Yeah, I could figure out the Bahasa to ask, but I'd have no idea about the answer.  My Bahasa is ok for basic stuff but a complicated explanation is not one of them.  I could probably use the Google Translate on my phone - I have tried it in "conversation mode" yet but it supposedly works well.  Ideally I'd find someone who speaks some English themselves which may not be that hard on this trip since we'll be in places that see lots of international tourists - Lombok and Jakarta.

[KennethT]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

 

I vaguely remember seeing chicken granules here but I just searched my online shopping options and the only chicken granules I can find are cat food!

 

The Bahasa to ask the difference between powder and granules is something like "Apa perbedaan antara bubuk ayam dan butiran ayam?" but then you have to figure out the answer for yourself.

 

I suppose the granules are just bigger grains but that wouldn't account for using both, unless they are bits of dried chicken flesh like you get in some chicken flavour instant noodles, but I'm really guessing now.

 

 

I may also ask a woman I know online - she has written a couple Indonesian Fusion cookbooks and also has a YouTube channel.

[ElsieD]

I tried the Knorr brand once and it was disgusting.

[Anchobrie]

I have look for the best ranked one using google lens, and well, guess what? only one matched image, from this forum (probably your pic too? didn't check)

 

At least I found the second one re-branded as "totole" readily available at Amazon. I keep it on a list, but I'll have an extra look for the top one to see if I can find it.

[liuzhou]

1 hour ago, Anchobrie said:

At least I found the second one re-branded as "totole" readily available at Amazon. I keep it on a list, but I'll have an extra look for the top one to see if I can find it.

 

Nothing wrong with the 太太乐 (tototle (sic)) powder, but the 百家鲜, if you can find it, is the acme of chicken powders. Happy hunting.

[weinoo]

21 hours ago, ElsieD said:

I tried the Knorr brand once and it was disgusting.

 

I have to think most, if not all of them, are.  And doesn't everything start to taste the same when one uses something like this powder in different dishes.

 

What's the matter with using good, old-fashioned, home made chicken stock (reduced plenty if you must) + some sodium in whatever form, and maybe a little sugar.   I don't think I want this in my food:

 

 

I mean, I could just have hot dogs.