CHAMCHAM - Tiger Crunch | Korean Chilli Salt | 120g

The sprinkle that lives next to the stove

Every kitchen has one jar that never makes it back into the cupboard. This is a strong candidate. Tiger Crunch is a Korean chilli salt built for finishing — sea salt, gochugaru, toasted sesame and dried lemon with actual crunch to it, so it adds texture as well as flavour.

It's the cheapest way into the ChamCham range and the one people come back for. The reviews are almost entirely people who bought it at a market, ran out, and went looking for more.

The flavour

Salt and Korean chilli lead — bright, fruity gochugaru rather than blunt cayenne fire. Toasted white and black sesame bring a nutty warmth, shallot and garlic add savoury depth, and dried lemon lifts the whole thing at the finish so it doesn't just taste salty. Raw sugar and yeast flake round the edges. It tastes like a seasoned crumb, not a spice powder.

Perfect on

Hot chips and wedges. Fried eggs. Roast potatoes. Grilled corn. Popcorn. Avocado toast. Steak, straight off the rest. Fried chicken. Pizza. Pasta. Rice bowls. Roast veg. Through schnitzel crumb. Over cream cheese on toast. Honestly — anything flat that needs waking up.

In the jar

Coarse and crunchy, brick-red flecked with black and white sesame and pale shallot. Not a fine powder — you'll feel it. Heat sits at Hub Heat 5/11: medium, and completely under your control depending on how heavy your hand is.

Why it's on our shelf

A jar that improves nearly everything you cook — one of the most useful things in this range. Handmade in Port Melbourne. Vegan and gluten free, so it can sit on any table.

See the full range at ChamCham Sauce.

Ingredients: Sea salt, Korean chilli flakes, black pepper, raw sugar, shallot, garlic, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, spices, dried lemon, yeast flake.

Allergens: Contains sesame. Manufactured in a facility that also processes products containing eggs, nuts, milk, wheat, sesame, sulphites, shellfish and fish.

Dietary: Gluten-free. Vegan. Nut-free.

Heat: Medium (Hub Heat 5/11)

Size: 120g

Origin: Handmade in Melbourne, Australia.

Ingredients and allergen information can change — always check the physical label before eating.

The Rub Smuggler's Verdict

A Korean chilli salt with actual crunch: gochugaru, toasted sesame and dried lemon that taste like a seasoned crumb. It lives next to the stove. Shake it over hot chips fried in Carnivore Society Beef Tallow, or over a steak straight off the rest with a smear of Tracklements Strong Horseradish Cream. Small jar, serious mischief, and it never goes back in the cupboard.