Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp

The benchmark every new chili crisp gets measured against.

Fly By Jing’s Sichuan Chili Crisp was the most-recommended jar in our comments for months, and when we finally tried it in our big chili crisp taste test, it earned the hype — one of us scored it 9.5/10, the other an 8, and it took the top spot of the night.

The story

It’s made in Chengdu by Jing Gao, who grew up eating chili crisp and built the brand around real Sichuan ingredients — including fermented black beans and Tribute pepper.

The taste test

The smell alone is worth the price: roasty, savory, a little soy-sauce depth. The fermented black beans bring salty umami, the crunchy bits are fine rather than chunky, and the burn is slow — it lands in your throat a beat after the flavor does. The Sichuan peppercorn tingle is present but polite; this is málà with training wheels, in the best way.

If you don’t do spicy at all, skip it. If you do even a little, this will not overwhelm you — and it’s shockingly versatile. Dumplings, noodles, eggs, and yes, vanilla ice cream (don’t knock it).

Verdict

A+ tier, and the reference point. When we review anything Sichuan-style, this is the jar it has to beat. Around $15–20 depending on where you buy; it’s in Target and Whole Foods now, which still feels surreal for a jar we used to mail-order.