Crafting Chili Crisp with Hei Ma

What makes a really good chili crisp? Join Lani Chan, founder of Sonoma County’s Hei Ma, for a hands-on exploration of the chiles, aromatics, texture, and technique behind this endlessly versatile condiment.

You’ll begin by tasting a selection of chili oils and exploring how different chile varieties, aromatics, and oil temperatures shape flavor, heat, and texture. Then you’ll build and season your own blend before carefully infusing it with hot oil. Along the way, Lani will share the techniques she uses at Hei Ma and show you how to work with the abundance of locally grown peppers arriving at the height of the season.

In this workshop you’ll:

• Taste and compare chili oils while learning how chile variety, aromatics, and oil temperature influence the finished condiment
• Learn how to build layers of flavor and balance heat, seasoning, crunch, and texture
• Create and season your own custom chili crisp blend
• Learn how to safely infuse your ingredients with hot oil
• Gain a flexible method and home-kitchen recipe you can use with seasonal and locally grown chiles
  

You’ll Take Home
You’ll leave with a jar of your own custom chili crisp, a jar of Hei Ma chili crisp, a recipe scaled for the home kitchen, and the knowledge to keep experimenting with your own combinations at home.

About the Instructor
Lani Chan is the founder of Hei Ma, a Sonoma County chili crisp company known for building bold, layered flavors around thoughtfully sourced ingredients. After earning a master’s degree in documentary storytelling and spending several years behind a cocktail bar, Lani turned her attention to food and began selling Hei Ma at local farmers markets.

Her small-batch chili crisps highlight ingredients from independent farms and local producers, including Sonoma County-grown chiles, garlic scapes, mushrooms, and hand-harvested seaweed from Bodega Bay. Hei Ma was voted Best Locally Made Food Product by The Bohemian readers and earned Double Gold at the Sonoma County Harvest Festival.