Salsa macha substitutes

Bottled crunchy chilli oil such as Lao Gan Ma or any of the newer chilli crisp brands, with fried solids suspended in oil.

Best for

tacos, fried eggs, grilled meat, quesadillas, roasted vegetables, beans

The best genuine swap, because both products are fundamentally crunchy solids in chilli oil and the eating experience is nearly identical. What changes: chilli crisp is built on fermented soybeans and often includes Sichuan pepper, so it is more soy-savoury with a numbing tingle in some brands, and its chillies are less smoky and less fruity than the moritas and arbols in salsa macha. Tacos dressed with it taste noticeably East Asian. A quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika, a pinch of dried oregano and a few crushed peanuts per two tablespoons nudges it convincingly Mexican.

Warm half a cup of neutral oil with four dried arbol and two morita or chipotle chillies torn open, a quarter cup of peanuts, two tablespoons of sesame seeds and three sliced garlic cloves over low heat for ten minutes, then salt and pulse coarsely.

Best for

everything salsa macha is for, gifting, keeping in the fridge, eggs and tacos

This is the real thing rather than a substitute, and it is genuinely easy, which is why it belongs near the top. The only skill involved is heat control. What can go wrong: if the oil gets hot enough to sizzle aggressively, the chillies and garlic scorch and the whole batch turns bitter, and there is no fixing it. Keep the oil barely shimmering, around the temperature where a garlic slice bubbles lazily, and pull the pan off if anything darkens past deep brown. Salt after blending, and pulse in short bursts so it stays gritty rather than becoming a paste.

Any bottled chilli oil, Asian or Italian, given back the nut and seed content that makes salsa macha what it is.

Best for

eggs, noodles, grilled fish, roast potatoes, quick fixes

A very practical build if you keep chilli oil in the cupboard. What changes: you get the fat, the heat and the crunch, but you lose the smoky morita note and the deep fried-garlic sweetness of the real thing, so it tastes brighter and simpler. Toast the peanuts and sesame in a dry pan for a minute first if they are raw, since untoasted nuts in oil taste chalky. Add them just before serving, because they soften if they sit in oil for days.

A tinned chipotle pulsed with oil and nuts into a smoky spoonable sauce.

Best for

tacos, grilled meat, sandwiches, mixing into mayonnaise or crema

This nails the one flavour that other substitutes miss, which is the smoky dried-chilli depth. What changes: the adobo sauce clinging to the chilli brings tomato, vinegar and sugar, so the result is tangier, softer and darker, and it is smooth rather than crunchy. That means it works beautifully spooned over tacos and poorly as a crunchy finishing condiment. Rinse the chipotle briefly if you want less tang, and add the peanuts at the very end with only two or three pulses so some crunch survives.

The aroma and texture of salsa macha without any real heat, for children or people who cannot eat chilli.

Best for

family meals, eggs, roasted vegetables, anyone heat-sensitive

Useful and often overlooked. Smoked paprika supplies the smoky red-chilli aroma and colour that people actually recognise, and the nuts and sesame do the textural work, so the condiment still tastes like something rather than like plain oil. What changes: no heat and no lingering warmth, so it reads more as a nut and sesame oil than as a salsa. Stir the paprika into warm rather than hot oil, because paprika burns very quickly and turns acrid.

The least-bad answer when all you have is a bottle of chilli oil and no nuts or seeds.

Best for

eggs, soups, noodles, drizzling

Honest assessment: this covers the fat, the heat and the red colour, which is maybe half of what salsa macha contributes, and it misses the two things people love about it, the crunch and the toasty nuttiness. Spooned over eggs it is good and it is not salsa macha. If there is a jar of peanut butter in the house, half a teaspoon stirred into two tablespoons of chilli oil adds back some of the nutty richness even though it does nothing for the texture.