Aren’t Sichuan peppercorns and prickly ash the same thing?
Did it grow on you in a good way, or do you still eat the product despite that?
I think they are from the same family, but prickly ash is supposedly less numbing in its effect compared to Sichuan peppercorns.
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I thought it was either the Sichuan pepper or the msg…
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I’m still fairly new to Lao Gan Ma and, honestly, am not really a fan of Sichuan peppercorns. I am okay with the la (spicy) bit, but not so much the ma (numbing) part. 
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Or even a combination of both!
I’m a little sad because aside from that one flavor - that is now the dominant one for me - I really like the other flavors and the heat level. And it was such a useful condiment. But I’ll have to look for something else. There was a chili garlic onion crunch at Trader Joe’s - we actually bought that one first. It was much thicker and a little spicier, but it was ok.
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Do you mean you taste the musty too? I’m wondering what “it” meant in your sentence.
i thought i was crazy - i have a couple jars now, but don’t add it to anything anymore because it just tastes off to me…
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We still prefer to lunch at home, rather than go out nowadays, despite the loosening of SOPs in Penang where I am, allowing fully-vaccinated individuals to dine out at restaurants.
I had a guest over for lunch just now, and decided to try out the Lao Gan Ma dip on her 
Don’t think my friend liked it - she had one taste, then stuck with the local sambal belacan for the rest of the meal.
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Thee are two kinds of Lo GanMa’s spicy chili crisp
You would think that they would taste the same, but they do not. Evidently they are not the same product. The one with the Chinese label pictured to the right has more of the prickly ash flavor. As far as I can tell, the one with the English label( to the left) has no prickly ash flavor at all, even though it is listed as one of the ingredients. Prickly ash is a very distinctive flavor with origins in Sichuan cuisine, and it creates a mild tingly sensation in the mouth. It is an acquired taste and one that is addictive!
I just received 6 bottles thru Amazon prime for $18.99/ Despite question sent to seller who verified that I will receive the one pictured, I received the less spicy one. Only. 2 other customers who are chinese complained about this mistake in their review. I am keeping them as I have no time to travel to Asian store and the price is not bad at all.
If interested as it is scarce out there now, even my supplier, an internet asian store is out of stock.
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Still toting my jar of Lao Gan Ma around - this time for Sunday yum cha brunch.
It went very well with the steamed shrimp-pork/siu mai and the all-shrimp/har gow dumplings.
And, @Harters , the friend I had brunch with today was the first person I’ve met here who really liked Lao Gan Ma, so I let him have the rest of the jar.
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Good decision, Peter.
Did the lao gan ma work as a dipping sauce for the dim sum? I may just have to order a delivery from the village Chinese takeaway.
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It was out of stock at the Boston-area HMart as of ~1.5 weeks ago. I am not an Amazon shopper, so I’ll wait or check out other local Asian Markets. And in the meantime, I am rationing it out.
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It did, actually! Perhaps the best use of Lao Gan Ma ever - as an accompaniment to dim sum dumplings!
But I’m still averse to the prickly ash scent/taste, even minute amounts. So, I’m actually glad to have a friend who adored the same spice and gladly took the whole jar off me.
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I am glad you shared this. A jar of Lao Gan Ma has been living in my fridge for awhile. Now I feel okay admitting it’s simply not for me.
Whew, that feels better.
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In Spain, there are several Olive Oil Producers which make a ready made Evoo with Guindillas, air dried cayenne chili peppers. One of these companies is Borges in Cataluyna.
Borges, exports …
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We digress but this olive oil, with chilli & garlic, comes from Mallorca. It’s produced by “Fet a Soller” (Made in Soller), the town from where my brother in law originates.
In the right season, you can drive through villages and almost every house has strings of chillis drying outside the front door. As this photo:
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