Best Original Chili Crisp: GUIZ vs Fly By Jing vs Momofuku

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I’ve reviewed all three of these originals individually and compared them in every possible head-to-head pairing: GUIZ vs Fly By Jing, Momofuku vs Fly By Jing, and GUIZ vs Momofuku. This best original chili crisp comparison is the final ranking — all three jars side by side, evaluated on the same criteria, with a definitive order. If you’re buying one original chili crisp and want to know which one deserves your money, this is the answer.

All three brands target the same buyer: someone who’s discovered chili crisp and wants to go deeper than whatever’s on the grocery store shelf. All three sell at a similar price point on Amazon. All three call themselves an “original.” What they put in the jar is where they stop having anything in common.

At a Glance

Best Original Chili Crisp — Three-Way Comparison Table

Tiers reflect in-context comparison performance. Individual review tiers may differ.

Oil Comparison

Line up the three jars and the oil tells you the story before you taste anything. GUIZ’s oil is clear — see-through, with an orangish-red tint that lets you look straight through to the bits, which fill the jar nearly to the lid. You can identify individual ingredients through the oil. Momofuku’s oil is dense and red, a viscous layer colored by three chili varieties. You can’t see through it. It looks like concentrated chili-infused oil — which is essentially what it is. Fly By Jing’s oil is dark, almost black, the color of toasted sesame oil mixed with rapeseed and soybean oil. It looks like a different product category entirely.

What the oil does on your palate is just as different. GUIZ’s soybean oil carries garlic and ginger from the infusion — it’s actively flavorful, doing real work alongside the solids. It’s a whole jar concept. Fly By Jing’s triple-oil blend has the richest oil character of the three — toasted sesame depth, a coating quality that lingers — but there’s too much of it relative to solids. The oil is interesting, but you’re getting more of it than you need. Momofuku’s grapeseed oil is neutral by nature. It carries color from the chilies but not much independent flavor. It’s a delivery vehicle, not a flavor contributor.

Settlement & Visual Appeal

GUIZ: 90% solids. The jar is packed. Peanut chunks, chili flakes, sesame seeds — large pieces, different sizes, visible variety. The fork doesn’t sink before stirring. After stirring, it comes up loaded with distinct, identifiable ingredients. This is the best settlement I’ve tested across every product reviewed on this site.

Momofuku: 60-65% solids. Better than Fly By Jing on density, but the bits are all ground to the same size — seeds, chili flakes, everything crushed to a uniform consistency. Spread on a plate, it looks homogeneous. Red and uniform. Nothing catches your eye or makes you curious about what’s in the mix.

Fly By Jing: 50-60% solids. The lowest settlement of the three. Small bits sitting low in a dark oil. You can spot the fermented soybeans scattered through the mix, which adds visual interest — little brown beans among chili fragments. But there isn’t enough of any of it. The fork sinks through the oil easily and doesn’t come up with much.

Spread all three on a white plate and the visual differences tell the whole story. GUIZ looks like a composed bite — varied textures, identifiable pieces, something you’d want to photograph. Fly By Jing has some character from the soybeans and the dark oil carrying fine particles. Momofuku is a red wall of crushed chili. One of these looks like food. The other two look like condiments.

Flavor Three Ways

#1 GUIZ: The Complete Jar

GUIZ delivers a sequence that no other jar in this comparison can match. The oil hits first with garlic and ginger. Guizhou chili pepper brings actual chili flavor — not just burn, but the roasted, dried character of the pepper itself. Peanut crunch gives you something to chew on while the Sichuan peppercorn starts its numbing and tingling. Underneath all of that, broad bean paste and cooking wine add a fermented funk and a tanginess that gives the whole jar a dimension nobody else is attempting. Every bite has a timeline: beginning, middle, lingering end. Full review.

#2 Fly By Jing: Flavor Without the Body

Fly By Jing has genuine flavor complexity. Salt and Sichuan peppercorn lead, followed by the fermented soybean tang, mushroom and seaweed umami in the background, and the rich sesame-forward oil character. There are layers here — more than Momofuku can touch. The problem is delivery. The bits are small and sparse. The oil-to-solids ratio means you’re tasting a lot of interesting oil and not enough crunchy substance. Fly By Jing’s flavor is working; its body is not. If this jar had GUIZ’s settlement density, it would be a different tier. Full review.

#3 Momofuku: Sugar and Burn

Momofuku gives you two flavors: sweet and spicy. Coconut sugar as the third ingredient dominates everything. The three chili varieties (puya, arbol, Chaponese) deliver genuine heat, but the sweetness coats everything else into irrelevance. Mushroom powder, yeast extract, sesame, shallots, garlic — they’re all on the label, and none of them come through with enough force to register as individual flavors. The jar smells like honey butter. It tastes like sweet heat. For all the interesting ingredients listed, the experience is two-dimensional. Full review.

Heat Comparison

Three different heat approaches, three different results. GUIZ runs dual-track at a 4 out of 5: Guizhou chili burn across the tongue and mouth, plus Sichuan peppercorn numbing and tingling on the lips and front of the tongue. Both heat types work simultaneously without canceling each other out. The burn lasts several minutes. The tingle fades more gradually. It’s a full mala-adjacent experience that enhances flavor rather than masking it.

Fly By Jing runs Sichuan peppercorn-forward at a 3 out of 5. The numbing and tingling are present but gentler than GUIZ. The dried chili adds a secondary warmth underneath. It’s a more subtle heat profile — enough to know it’s there, not enough to dominate.

Momofuku runs straight chili burn at a 3 out of 5. No Sichuan peppercorn, no numbing, no tingling. Three chili varieties that could have created a complex heat but get flattened by the coconut sugar into a single sweet-spice sensation. If you like your heat with sweetness, Momofuku delivers that. If you want your heat to enhance other flavors, GUIZ and Fly By Jing are the only options at this table.

Crunch Comparison

GUIZ leads by a wide margin. Peanut chunks, sesame seeds, and chili flakes in varied sizes create a crunch that changes with every forkful. You hit a peanut, then sesame, then a chili flake — each one contributing different texture and flavor. The 90% settlement means every scoop is loaded. Crunch is the first thing you notice and the last thing you remember.

Momofuku comes second on crunch. Uniform chili flakes and seeds provide a consistent, steady texture. It’s not as interesting as GUIZ’s variety, but it’s real crunch — not soggy, not chewy. The bits hold up. If crunch were the only criterion, Momofuku would be a respectable second place.

Fly By Jing comes last on crunch, and it’s not close. Small bits, sparse distribution, oil-softened texture. The fermented soybeans add a little chew but not crunch. The chili fragments are too fine to provide resistance. Phil’s assessment: “just needs more stuff in it, and then it would be awesome.” The flavor is doing the work; the texture is letting it down.

Value Per Ounce

GUIZ is the biggest jar, the cheapest per ounce, and has the highest settlement ratio. You’re paying $1.48 per ounce for a jar that’s 90% solids. Fly By Jing charges 35% more per ounce for a jar that’s half oil. Momofuku charges 47% more per ounce for a jar where coconut sugar is the third ingredient. The value ranking matches the flavor ranking: GUIZ first, then Fly By Jing, then Momofuku.

When you factor in what you’re actually getting — not just ounces of product, but ounces of flavorful solids — the gap widens further. GUIZ’s 8.11 ounces at 90% settlement gives you roughly 7.3 ounces of actual stuff. Fly By Jing’s 6 ounces at 55% gives you about 3.3 ounces of stuff. Momofuku’s 5.5 ounces at 63% gives you about 3.5 ounces. GUIZ delivers more than double the solids of either competitor at a lower total price. That’s not a close comparison.

The Final Ranking

#1 — GUIZ Original Chili Crisp: EXCELLENT
The most complete original chili crisp I’ve tested. Layered flavor from Guizhou chili, peanuts, broad bean paste, and cooking wine. Dual-track heat. The best settlement on the market. $1.48 per ounce. This is the jar.

#2 — Fly By Jing Original Sichuan Chili Crisp: GOOD
Genuine flavor complexity from fermented soybean, Sichuan peppercorn, and a rich triple-oil base. Falls short on crunch and settlement — too much oil, not enough bits. If it had GUIZ’s density, it’d compete for the top spot. Worth buying as a second jar or for its unique oil character.

#3 — Momofuku Chili Crunch: AVERAGE
Decent crunch, three interesting chili varieties, and a recognizable brand. But coconut sugar as the third ingredient flattens the flavor into sweet-and-spicy, and the $2.18-per-ounce price doesn’t match the two-dimensional experience. Better options exist at a lower price.