Avoid Buying This Brand Of Chili Crisp If You Want Satisfying Flavor

Chili crisp is a versatile condiment that really deserves a crown, its roses, and all the accolades in the world. You can toss it into soups, whisk it into a salad dressing, smear it on sandwiches, spoon it over rice bowls, and even use it as a spicy topping on vanilla ice cream. But of course, there are always going to be great, average, and terribly disappointing options for every condiment out there.

Our list of chili crisps, ranked from worst to best, will give you more insight the next time you intend to grab a jar. The brand you're definitely going to want to pass on is Mr. Bing Chili Crisp. Simply put, it's a flavorless tragedy among a plethora of tasty options.

The biggest flaw of Mr. Bing Chili Crisp is that the oil itself just doesn't pack a punch. Sure, the crisp part of this product has some good texture, with rice bran giving some extra crunch to the solids that sink to the bottom of the jar. But with a good chili crisp, both the textural elements and the oil need to be good. Unfortunately, the oil in this jar is just giving burnt, old garlic, and just a bare hint of it at that. With so many other jewels on the market (like Lao Gan Ma, the brand we ranked as the best chili crisp), there's just no reason to spend the nearly $10 on this 7-ounce jar.

Reviews reveal some similar opinions out there in the internet wilds. One Redditor claimed they had buyer's remorse over Mr. Bing's Chili Crisp, with others chiming in to say that they also found this chili crisp to have a funkiness that bordered on rank. Other reviews on Amazon lambasted the heat level, claiming it hardly has more spice than ground black pepper. Some claim it tasted like chemicals, and while we didn't personally notice any of that kind of funk, we do agree with the reviews that said it severely lacks any depth of flavor.

If you already bought yourself a jar and don't like it, try adding in extra dried, ground chiles for heat or some MSG for an umami boost. It's pretty easy to use up in recipes that won't center the flavor, especially when paired with strongly flavored ingredients such as peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, or red miso. Clearly, Mr. Bing fails to live up to any aspect of the chili crisp hype, and there are just plenty of tastier chili crisp fish in the proverbial condiment sea.