Zindrew Crunchy Garlic Chili Oil (OG & X Batch)

The OG batch is our everyday jar. The X Batch is a dare in glass form.

Everybody in our corner of LA talks about Zindrew. It’s made by a couple who love chili oil, it’s stocked at local markets (we grabbed ours at the neighborhood Big T Mart for $11.99), and there are two very different personalities in the lineup.

Zindrew X Batch — handle with care

The red label means business. It came out of the jar in one solid iceberg chunk, deep red, and it is by far one of the spiciest jars we’ve ever reviewed. The spice hits, then the garlic, then it coats your throat. Put on too much and it kills the taste of your food; put on a little and you get the point. We gave it a 7 — great for spice challenges, tricky for dinner.

Zindrew OG Batch — the daily driver

This is the one. Crunchy garlic, soy-sauce savoriness, fine crisp, and a heat around 2–2.5 out of 5 — less than the label suggests. It’s more savory than almost anything else on our shelf and outrageously versatile: dumplings especially (shout out to Valerie Cao, who eats the X Batch by the spoonful — we bow down), but also noodles, rice, eggs, whatever’s in front of you.

Verdict

A+ tier on the strength of the OG batch. Savory, versatile, dumpling-perfect. Buy the OG first; graduate to the X Batch only if you have something to prove.

Where to buy: their site (~$12 + shipping) or SoCal Asian markets — store list on their website.