Mama Teav's

Siblings Christina and Anthony Teav turned their Cambodian mother's hot garlic recipe into a jarred chili crisp, launched in 2021 after years cooking in restaurant kitchens.

About Mama Teav's

Founded
2021
Known for
hot garlic chili crisp from a Cambodian family recipe

Mama Teav's started with a jar of hot garlic that Christina and Anthony Teav grew up eating. Their mother fled war and genocide in Cambodia in the 1970s, and the recipe is hers. The siblings grew up Cambodian American in Stockton, California, then cooked in kitchens including The French Laundry, State Bird Provisions and Nyum Bai before launching the sauce in 2021.

The method is short: garlic fried in oil and combined with roasted Cambodian chilis, from a small list of ingredients.

Chili crisp goes over rice and fried eggs, into a salad dressing, or onto roasted vegetables, fish and smashed potatoes.

Mama Teav's questions

What is chili crisp, and how is Mama Teav's different?

Chili crisp is a Chinese condiment of chilis and aromatics such as garlic fried in oil, with more crunchy bits than oil, so you spoon it on rather than pour it. Mama Teav's calls its version hot garlic made the Southeast Asian way: organic garlic fried in cold-pressed grapeseed oil with flame-roasted Cambodian chilis, and no soy or sesame. Like other chili crisps, it goes on at the table or just before serving, over eggs, rice, noodles or soup.

What is grapeseed oil?

Grapeseed oil is pressed from grape seeds, which are left over from winemaking, and it has a light taste. Cold-pressed means the oil is squeezed out without added heat. A light oil lets other flavors lead, which is why Mama Teav's fries its garlic in it: the garlic and chili carry the flavor, not the oil.

See all brands