Katie and Jen get heated with owner of 14+ chili crisps, Eater's social media manager James Park.
Co-hosts Katie (@QKatie) and Jen (@JenEatsLife) talk all things spice—and the not-so-nice. They trace peppers' trade routes and WWE professional wrestler John Cena's contribution to the chile crisp trend. Later in the episode, they dissect the anatomy of a perfect chili oil with Eater's social media manager James Park (@jamesyworld).
Special thanks to Allison for your question and Brian (@bqfunk) for our theme music!
Have a Q? Send us a voice memo for a chance to get featured.
Jen Phanomrat: Hey, I'm Jen.
Katie Quinn: And I'm Katie.
Jen: This is Either Side Eaters.
Katie: We are friends who talk--wait, we're friends, right? Are we friends?
Jen: I hope so.
Katie: (laughing) We talk about food, whether it's across the table or across the Atlantic Ocean.
Jen: And talk about questions, like, does spicy food really burn going in and going out?
Katie: (laughing) Oh my God. Coming up in this episode, we'll talk about chili oil.
Jen: We'll also get spicy with James Park, social media manager at Eater, who loves to feel the burn.
Katie: Well, so, the thing that actually comes to mind for me, Jen, when I think of spicy anecdotes, the thing that comes to mind visually is you and Leo doing the spicy ramen challenge on YouTube years ago.
Jen: That is our claim to fame. (laughing)
Katie: Yeah, I mean, I think you really like, tested--that's like, that's like a test for a relationship, going through that experience together.
Jen: Sure. Sure. Yes.
Katie: I mean, that's an intense--because that's an intense situation, is what I'm saying.
Jen: It was, and we were trying to be as supportive of each other as possible and to help one another deal with the pain. And we did it because I just like that adrenaline rush that spice gives. I mean, I grew up eating spicy food, and so when this ramen challenge happened, I love ramen. I love spicy. So win win for me. It was not a win win. (laughing) It was a very--what was supposed to be like an hour long thing turned into a nightmare of a day and night. So...and then I did it again years later.
Katie: (laughing) Why? Masochism?
Jen: Because I don't learn. Exactly. I'm all about it.
Katie: So a funny story. Jen, you know me well enough to know I'm always like, a step or two behind trends, and um, and so when, when this spicy ramen challenge like finally came into my awareness, I don't know, a year later or something, I was like, "Connor, Connor, there's this challenge!" Connor, of course, my, my partner. Like, "You want to do it? It sounds so fun. It's crazy. You want to do it?" And he's like, "Katie, everyone did that like so long ago. We cannot do that. I don't--no, the ship has sailed."
Jen: So you haven't?
Katie: I--no. Should I bring it back? Should we bring back the trend? (laughing)
Jen: I don't think it ever left. I think Connor doesn't know what he's talking about. And you, my friend, are a trendsetter and trend reenact--uh, no, reinstate-er. (laughing)
Katie: I'll take reenactor too.
Jen: I say do it. Uh, just depends on how much you love your butthole.
Katie: (laughing) Alright, I'ma do it. But first, before I do that, uh, let's listen to a question from one of you.
Call-in: Hi, Jen and Katie, my name is Alison, I'm calling in from St. Paul, Minnesota. And my question is about Sichuan peppercorns. I recently just tried my first recipe with them and loved it, tried a second recipe with them and really loved it. And I'm so sad that I have missed 32 years of my life without this amazing spice. So I'm wondering if you have any recommendations or favorite recipes for using Sichuan peppercorns, or maybe if there's a really interesting or unique way to use them. I would love to hear your recommendations and your thoughts on it. Thank you so much. I'm really looking forward to listen to the podcast.
Jen: I wish--Alison, I wish you told us, what are the two dishes you made with Sichuan peppercorns?
Katie: Yeahhhh, but welcome, welcome, welcome to the numbing spice club. So happy that you like this stuff as much as I would say, both Jen and I do.
Jen: Yeah, well I was gonna ask you, do you enjoy it? I have no idea actually.
Katie: Oh-ho-ho-ho yeah, big time, big time. I can't get enough of it. And I mean, I remember going--so, I've visited China twice. I've never been to Sichuan province, but I have always gone to Sichuan restaurants in China, and just like, every single dish is mind-blowingly amazing. And so many of the dishes do include this spice. Um, some really good fish dishes, but my go-to whenever I cook with it at home is mapo tofu.
Jen: Yes.
Katie: Am I saying that right?
Jen: A hundred percent.
Katie: Mapo tofu?
Jen: Mapo tofu. Mmhmm.
Katie: Um, yeah, Jen, what about you?
Jen: That--that's one of my top ways to eat it, and I'm just going back on the numbing, uh, in case you've never tasted it or use this ingredient before, it's not really like a spicy, prickly heat. Right? As you're saying, it's, it's numbing. It's--and it's--I like the slightly floralness that most peppercorns I feel like have, but this in particular. I feel like any sort of pink peppercorns, right, where you can call them peppercorns, it has that like, floral note to it that I really like. But it's not like, super overpowering in a dish, depending on how much you use, right? Like, are you going to drop in a whole cup of it? If you're making chili oil--so one of my recommendations is, if you're really interested in Sichuan peppercorns, go ahead and make yourself a batch of chili oil that's infused with the peppercorns, because it's like, you've got the heat, you've got like, whatever other flavors you want, garlic, you want shallots, ginger, whatever it is. Uh, star anise, cinnamon, that's--cardamom, that's what I like to add in mine. And then the peppercorns are like, a must.
Katie: Uhhh.
Jen: Got that spicy, prickly heat, and then you got the numbing. Uh, but--
Katie: Jen, that sounds so good. You're like, making me drool. (laughing)
Jen: (laughing) I make it often. It's like, it's so delicious. Um, aside from mapo tofu, I love it in, in like, noodle dishes, like dan dan noodles. It's really nice there with like tahini, like any, like that sesame flavor. Um, and then I actually have a recipe that I made for my show, Just Jen, on--I forget what I call it, but it's like a, it's Sichuan peppercorn, chili, mango paletas, like popsicles.
Katie: Oooh.
Jen: And so you've got like, the sweet, uh nectary mango, that has strawberry, like strawberry compote, that's been infused with the Sichuan peppercorns and chili powder.
Katie: Oh my God.
Jen: Like a little bit of lime in there. So you've got all that like, sweet salty, it hits all the boom boom boom boom marks on your tongue.
Katie: Yeah, it's really hits everything. I mean I--and I love the sweet and spicy action, but that just like, that's so all-encompassing. That gets all of the flavors that make like, the perfect bite, or I guess in this case, the perfect lick.
Jen: (laughing) Yeah, gotta lick it....errrrrhh...before you stick it. (laughing)
Katie: Oh my God.
Jen: So this is automatic, Katie. This is what happens when you decide to have a show with me. So, um, what was I going to say? And it's really fun. It's a fun experience too, because you've not only got the cold numbing your tongue, but also the Sichuan peppercorn. So it's like a really exciting lick.
Katie: Well, when you say experience, too, that is like, that's such a great way to just describe this numbing heat of a Sichuan peppercorn. If anyone listening has never tried it, I mean, just like Allison said, she regrets that she went 32 years of her life without trying it. It's an experience. It is a culinary experience really like no other, and it's fantastic. And I would say it's a little addicting, like, it's such a fun experience that you--kind of, like, right about now, I'm like "Oh, I gotta get me some mapo tofu." I'll get on it.
(musical interlude)
Jen: So just until recently, I thought chili peppers were native to Asia.
Katie: Okay, that--that--that hits right for me.
Jen: Yeah. So like, you think of Thai food, right? The food of my peoples. What do you think?
Katie: When I think Thai food, I think, I think it can get hella spicy.
Jen: Yeah. Super spicy sometimes, right? Um...
Katie: And honestly, I think of, when I think of some of these spiciest food I've ever had in my life, I think of Sri Lankan food.
Jen: Yesssss.
Katie: So like, yes, put--put those chilies in that...
Jen: Super fire.
Katie: Yeah.
Jen: Uh, so they are in fact not native to Asia, but to south and central America. So just like, tomatoes, potatoes, peanuts, all those things were from that region. And uh, so chili peppers, among those other items, were first introduced in Asia around 15th century, uh, from the routes of the Portuguese and the Spaniards. And now that's how we have chili all over. There's this appreciation for that immense, uh, fiery, prickly bite, and how it just elevates dishes, right? I think that's really why a lot of the world has embraced this beautiful fruit, um, in all its forms. So you know, we've got chili all over the world, it's preserved many different ways. You have paste, right? Dried and powdered. Uh, but my favorite chili preservation is in oil.
Katie: Uhhh. Yes. Ohhh.
Jen: Chili oil in all the forms. Uh, and there's so many kinds of chili oil, right? There's, there's Rwandan akabanga. So akabanga in uh, Kinyarwanda is like, loosely translates to "little secret."
Katie: Ohhhh, I love that. Oh my gosh.
Jen: It's like that cute, like, that little secret. And in akabanga, it's not--you don't generally see--it's made from scotch, bonnet peppers, habanero peppers, and generally you don't see the pepper in it. It's mostly just like the infusion or the pressed peppers in this oil. So it's this beautiful, vibrant, bright--
Katie: Oh wow.
Jen: --yellowy orange oil.
Katie: And that's got to be strong, if it's got scotch bonnet...
Jen: Yeah, I would see--um, I haven't tried it, but I would see dishes where it's like, little drops are applied to it just before you take a bite. It's that strong.
Katie: The thing I love about scotch bonnet is that it's got this like, sweetness to it. It's like super spicy, but it's got this sweetness, which is mmm, so good.
Jen: Flavorful.
Katie: Yes, flavor forward.
Jen: Beautiful. Some of my favorite hot sauces have scotch bonnet.
Katie: Totally. Yeah, I totally agree.
Jen: Uh, there's also Mexican salsa macha, which translates as brave--right? Sauce. Brave..(laughing)
Katie: (laughing) Oh my God, yes. You have to be brave to eat it.
Jen: Yeah. And it's like a combination of different dried peppers, and there's like onion and garlic and it's blended up--
Katie: Mmmm.
Jen: --with this oil. Oh my God, it looks amazing. Um, and you being in Italy, olio di peperoncino.
Katie: Oh yeah, the peperoncino, and the Calabrian peperoncini.
Jen: Yes. And so that's like, that's where it originates from, there, right? In the calabria region. Um, what are your favorite ways to eat it?
Katie: Oh my gosh, we put it on everything, Jen. I think you remember when we put it on some pizza, because you and I messaged about that, um...
Jen: Yeah, I lusted over it.
Katie: Yeah. Incredible. Oh my gosh, honestly, it's a condiment that we go through very quickly.
Jen: Living in Italy, you've seen different bottles. It's--so you either have like, more crushed peppers, but there's still the oil, or it's like more pasty, or--
Katie: Yeah.
Jen: Or it's just like, the whole chili that's either brined, right? It's like, that salty flavor in oil.
Katie: Yes. And it also comes just dried. Um, and it's really cheap. I mean, you can get like a bucket full of it for like €3. It's insanely cheap. And then, that's your spice in your pantry for the next two years. It's amazing.
Jen: Delicious. It's also got a little, a little fruity note. Yeah.
Katie: A little fruity. No, absolutely. Yeah, but then you can also get them fresh, of course. You can just buy them fresh and eat them that way. Yeah, no.
Jen: I've never had a fresh one.
Katie: Oh, they're good. They're spicy.
Jen: Yeah. (laughing)
Katie: Obviously. Stating the obvious, she says. (aughing) But uh yeah, delicious.
Jen: (laughing) Chili? Spicy? What?
Katie: I know, who'd have thought? (laughing)
Jen: This is quirky. (laughing)
Katie: Oh my God.
Jen: Um, and then, you know, there's the--when I think of chili oil, because this is my relationship with it, I think of the Chinese varieties.
Katie: Mmmm.
Jen: So, um, specifically in provinces like Sichuan, Hunan, and, um, Guizhou, it's like, those are like, the spicy food regions. You'll find all those different spices. We talk about it with Sichuan peppercorns, right? And Sichuan cuisine. And they each have their own style. So depending on who makes it, it can either just be chili and oil, different types of chilies, or just one type of chili, or a combination of like, a spice infused oil. So sometimes there's like, cloves and star anise, cinnamon. Those are my favorites.
Katie: Uhhhh.
Jen: Um, in those infused oils.
Katie: And those are--they--that brings like, the warming kind of sensation.
Jen: Yes. It rounds it out.
Katie: Yes.
Jen: So good. Um, and sometimes there's like fried bits in it. So aromatics, like all the alliums. So garlic, onions, right? Shallots, or ginger. Um, I like the ones with crunchy textures, like, little--little tiny cubes of fried tofu or fermented black bean, right? Soybean.
Katie: (gasping) Yes.
Jen: Delicious, bold, delicious flavors. Um, and a popular--flash forward to today--a really popular chili oil, or chili crisp brand product, is Lao Gan Ma.
Katie: Yes, I know--oh I know it. And actually when you said, when you said this chili oil with the black soybeans in it, Lao Gan Ma was the brand that came to mind, because...
Jen: That's my favorite.
Katie: That shit's good.
Jen: It's--I love when that black bean, it's just that um, umami, salty, pungent...
Katie: Yes, it brings--it brings the umami, it's incredible.
Jen: It's so good. So, speaking--so Lao Gan Ma, I think started around the late 90's, and has like expanded across the world. Like it's a, it's a fridge pantry staple of mine.
Katie: Oh yeah. In London we would get it all the time.
Jen: Yeah, it just adds so much to anything.
Katie: And so this is a brand of not just chili oil, right? Does Lao Gan Ma--
Jen: No. Yeah they do a bunch--they do a bunch of different things, but this is what, like, that's--their chili crisp is like the, the most popular.
Katie: The fan favorite? (laughing)
Jen: The fan favorite, the cult following of Lao Gan Ma. Um, som yeah, so it's super common now to find in stores. I remember just only finding it in Asian markets, but now I have it at my local, you know, convenience store, even.
Katie: Oh wow!
Jen: Yeah, it's interesting. Um, and that just shows me that there is an uptick, right? There's, there's this growing interest in chili, chili oil, especially as people become more aware of how diverse Chinese cuisine actually is.
Katie: Absolutely.
Jen: Right? And so restaurants are embracing it more. Uh, there's so many more companies now that are coming up with their own versions of chili oil, chili crisp. And I was really curious about when this started to blow up. So I hopped onto Google Trends, and I was like--do you do this? This is a hobby of mine. I like typing ingredients in and see what's popping off.
Katie: Oh my God, no, I need to do this.
Jen: You need to do this, it's fun. So I hopped on to Google Trends, put chili oil, and I saw that like, over the years, from the nineties, late nineties, it was like, steady, and then exponentially from 2018 up to now, it just went, woop! And it was because--and I clicked on some links of what happened there--you know John Cena? WWE pro wrestling?
Katie: Oh my God! Yes, yes, yes, yes, of course.
Jen: He did this amazing video shout out in fluent Mandarin expressing his love of Lao Gan Ma.
Katie: Oh my gosh!
Jen: And from that point, just the searches on Google alone were plenty.
Katie: Oh my gosh.
Jen: People went crazy over it. It was, you know, for lack of a better term, trending.
Katie: Does he actually speak Mandarin, or he just learned this one sentence in Mandarin?
Jen: I don't know. He--the whole video was in Mandarin. The whole--
Katie: What?
Jen: Like, yeah, he was just like, talking, talking, talking, he's just wrapping up filming, and he wanted to profess his love for, for this, for this condiment, and how you should go try it. And--bless him, that was great. (laughing) That was wonderful. Um, and so like, I have now been curious about the other types of chili oils, and one of my favorites now is Fly By Jing. And Jing, she kind of takes us on this journey of how she's, uh, you know, going back to her roots in Chengdu, China, and, and developing these products that aren't really Chengdu and not really American. It's, it's something different.
Katie: Ohhhh.
Jen: It's something different. It's delicious, and I've been using it not only for things like dumplings and noodles and uh, stir fries, or just sometimes as a snack over rice with some steamed veggies.
Katie: Mmmm.
Jen: I particularly love it in like, red sauce pasta--
Katie: (gasping) Oh my gosh.
Jen: On pizza. It's good. I get so excited. I feel like I see it--not a week goes by, not even a couple of days go by, without me seeing somebody using chili oil or doing that food porn shot on Instagram--
Katie: Ohhhhh.
Jen: Oh, or dipping something into it and just having that oil caress and coat whatever it is they're eating. That, that's my food porn.
Katie: I mean, I will say that there is something fairly addicting about chili oil that once you've had it, certain dishes, a lot of dishes just don't taste right without it.
Jen: I'm glad you said that, because I--I ran out once of my Lao Gan Ma, and I said "You know what, I'm going to make my own." And so I started experimenting with different combinations, and now I can't stop making it. And so I make it a lot from my--I made a batch for my mother in law for her birthday.
Katie: (gasping) Oh my gosh!
Jen: Because she loves when I make a smashed cucumber salad, Chinese smashed cucumber salad, and that's what I'll add. She didn't have the condiment, and I said, "Oh, let me make you some." Um, and I like to infuse my oil with a stick of cinnamon, one thing of star anise, some cloves, and some green cardamom.
Katie: Oh my god.
Jen: Let that sizzle, and then like heated up to a certain temperature, so like around 215°F. And then I'll have, uh, depending on the chili, the dry chili I want to use, I'll get the mortar and pestle, boop boop boop boop, put some garlic in there, some ginger, some shallots, and then pour that oil--
Katie: Uhhhhh.
Jen: --over everything and watch it sizzle. Uhh, just the sound--
Katie: Mmm. Mm-mm-mm.
Jen: And it's perfuming the whole house. Delicious.
Katie: So Jen, my birthday is April 17, if you have some uh...like a birthday thing...(laughing)
Jen: Stay tuned. (laughing)
Katie: Yeah.
(midroll)
Jen: Uh, but there's someone I know who loves and is obsessed with chili oil more than I am, and that's my friend James.
Katie: Oh, we gotta talk to him.
(musical interlude)
Jen: Today's guest is the oh-so-fun James Park. He is known for sharing his emotional love for food on Eater and on his Instagram videos, where he allows curious viewers to live vicariously through each explosive bite. He also has one of the most extensive chili oil collections ever, and I'm very jealous about that. So we're going to start with some quick fire this-or-that questions. Are you ready?
James: I'm so ready.
Jen: Okay. First question: this is kind of why--I like to ask my questions for the rest of your life. Okay? Answer thinking about the rest of your life. You can only choose one. Would you rather only have kimbap or spam musubi for the rest of your life?
James: I think I will go with kimbap, because like kimbap has so many other possibilities. Um, even though I love, like, spam musubi, I think my heart just goes to kimbap. (laughing)
Katie: Alright. Next question for you, James. Would you rather have rice noodles or wheat noodles for the rest of your life?
James: Oh. I think I will go with wheat noodles, because I love gluten. I love the anything gluten, the texture. (laughing) I think like, rice noodles are easier to like--it's slurping faster, but like wheat noodles, I think I enjoy the texture a little more, and it's more versatile, in my opinion.
Jen: It's the--it's the food that bites back.
James: Exactly. (laughing)
Katie: Yes! I love that.
James: There you go. Put that on a t-shirt.
Katie: Merch! For real. (laughing)
Jen: Okay, last question. Popeye's or Jollibee?
Katie: (gasping) Oh!
James: Okay, ohhhh, wow. I actually thought about this a lot in my spare time, but I think I have to go with Jollibee. (laughing)
Katie: Alright, alright.
James: I love Popeye's, but like, I just--I don't think uh, Popeye's has that quite like, foodgasmic experience that I get every time I'm at Jollibee. I think it's the gravy, I think it's a whole set with like, other offerings that I get, and also it's the environment. Like, everyone who works at Jollibee makes me so happy whenever they say "Have a jolly day." That just makes my day.
Jen: I mean, there's a jolly bee, just standing outside the door greeting you.
James: I know!
Jen: Welcoming you with chicken smells.
James: My friend told me that I kind of look like Jollibee. So I kind of associate myself with that. (laughing)
Jen: That's amazing. (laughing) Very similar smile, I can see it. So we invited you on for this episode because you are the chili crisp, chili oil connoisseur, and living out my chili oil dreams. So...
Katie: Oh yeah, all the chili oil fantasies. You're just checking 'em off the list.
Jen: All of it. And you recently wrote the Ultimate Guide to Chile Crisp on Eater and I was amazed at how many you have. So do you currently--is it true you have 10 different, is there more?
James: All of them are in my fridge, and I have more emergency jars in case like, I go through like, one of them. So like, there's always like two to three backups that I haven't opened up, so that I will always have a supply of chili crisp and oil whenever I want.
Jen: So really it's more like, you have...times ten by like two or three backups. You have like maybe 30 in your space right now.
James: I have like thirteen. So like, I don't have like the multiple of each brand, but like there are certain brands that I just get a lot. Uh, so like for example, Fly By Jing, I have this like, extra extra extra large size, which will get me like, three, four weeks, compared to like, a week or two weeks. Uh, that just makes me happy to see a big jar of chili oil.
Jen: And that's a good one to have a big jar of. It's wonderful. And something you wrote in your article was that it has, for you, like the perfect ratio of oil to chili flakes. Can you--can you explain that? Like, what are you looking for in your ideal chili crisp?
James: In my ideal chili crisp, I think there's got to be different flavoring elements of crisp, besides chili. What I appreciate from all these different brand is their interpretation of adding flavors. So some have fermented black beans, some have a lot of, more sesame seeds, some have very shallot-forward, so like, to me, the--on top of like, chili, those flavorings really make the flavor different and the crisp different. Um, so in my perfect one, I'll just have all of all the above. You know, like, the more is the better, in a way. I really enjoy the sort of sweet flavors from shallot. I also really really love the extra savory bites of fermented black beans.
Jen: Oh yes.
James: I would love to have both of those. And I also love like, big garlic chips, uh, and I love a lot of sesame seeds. So like, I don't think there is a brand that has all of the above. (laughing) It's usually like two or three, but in my perfect world I would have all of them. But with like, not-so-numbingly um, overpowering spice, but just enough that it's gonna go well with everything that I go. And you can sort of spoon down the crisp so that there's enough oil, so if you want to mix it together you can, but if you want to separate, just use the oil itself or just the crisp itself, you will have those. So...
Jen: And that's why I think the Fly By Jing one is the perfect one for me because there's--you know, I love Lao Gan Ma--
James: Mmhmm.
Jen: But the thing is I always run out of oil, so I'm constantly like, "Okay, I'll use the crisp, I'll use, you know, the black bean in there," but I'm always looking for more oil. So I'll find myself like, just sometimes if I'm lazy, adding oil to it.
James: I mean, I--you can totally infuse that. I think I actually used to do that too before I discovered, like, other brands. (laughing) Now I'm thinking about it, it's like honey butter chips would go really, really well with chili crisp, because it's both salty and sweet. And then if you introduce the element of extra crisp and spice, I feel like there will be a flavor bomb.
Katie: Oh yeah.
Jen: Whoa, whoa.
James: I have to do that now.
Jen: And if you put that on vanilla ice cream, so you've got like, the cold, the crunch, the salt, the sweet, the spice.
Katie: That's the perfect bite.
James: Mmm. Like, I already envision it, and my big Jamesy spoon. I have this like, a huge, like, shovel that I put my mouth. Um, and I--
Jen: I love it.
James: It's like so fun, actually. And the bottom would be like, you know, kind of flat and slightly melty vanilla ice cream. And then I would kind of like, crunch up those like, honey butter chips, and then I would have a little bit of oil all throughout, but crisp in the middle, so that the science, then the structural integrity of the bite, would be so amazing.
Jen: Ben & Jerry's, if you're listening, give James a collab. (laughing)
Katie: (laughing) Yeah.
James: Make that ice cream and just give me 10%. (laughing)
Jen: On your content, in your photos and your videos, but particularly your, like, short, very short mukbang videos.
James: Yeah.
Jen: What I love about them is that you get so excited about a food combination or a new dish or place you're traveling to, and you're trying something out. The focus is less on a tutorial of how to make it. You do show some parts of, like, you were making an ube cheesecake bisque, right? The other day.
James: Yeah.
Jen: And so like, you're not showing the full steps, but you're showing some of it. And then the real experience, the thing I look forward to all the time, is your reaction to taking the first bite.
James: Mmm.
Jen: Your--and it's, and it's never like, bite, and, "Mmm, It's salty, it's sweet. It's--I like this." It's just full emotional expression of what's happening in your mind, body, and soul, and we get to experience that. And I think that's amazing.
James: I'm so glad that people find that entertaining, because, like, that's usually how I eat all the time. And what I don't understand is when I look at some of my friends, and like, they're dead silent, no matter how good or delicious or horrible that is. There is like, no facial expression change. It's like, "Okay, good, that's fine." Like I, I like, don't understand that, because it's like, how can you not jump out of your seat when you're first having Jollibee in front of me? Like, how dare you not just show me the respect, to have a foodgasm when you first try Jollibee, you know? They're trying like--
Jen: How dare you!
James: Yeah, you're disrespecting my icon here. Like I brought you to Jollibee, and you just said it's good. Like, I don't know.
Jen: I'm with you. (laughing) And do you mind if I reenact, for, for those listening, If you haven't seen one of his videos, please do. But what I love is, so you're taking a bite, you're looking, you're going, "Mmm, okay." Um, the moment you take a bite, it's just sounds. Just sounds. It's--"Oooohmm!" It's just that for like a couple seconds, and each and every time, I smile, because I feel like I am eating that too. Well, if you guys want to watch and live vicariously through James's eating adventures, make sure to go follow and watch him on Instagram at @Jamesyworld. And if you want to check out his kimbap fried chicken merch, check him out at cookingmyfeelings.com. Thank you so much. James.
James: Thank you so much for having me.
Katie: Thanks James!
(musical interlude)
Katie: He really opened my eyes to not just what chili oil is, but what it can be? Like, okay, I fully expect to see his arrangement of chili oil jars like in the Smithsonian one day.
Jen: Let's petition for it.
Katie: Yes.
Jen: If you like the show, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a rating and review. You can also drop us a question using the link in the show notes. And in the meantime, you can catch up with us on Instagram at @qkatie and at @jeneatslife. Special thanks to the musician who wrote and performed our theme song, Brian Quinn. Woop woop! That's your brother. Uh, you can follow him on Instagram at @bqfunk.