Spicy Pickled Garlic is the Hot Food Trend on TikTok

Lala, who goes by the handle @lalaleluu on TikTok, went viral in April for a video of her eating an entire bottle of pickled garlic that she customized as a substitute for her kimchi cravings, Today reported.

The video shows Lala explaining the four essential ingredients to make the spicy pickled garlic: a jar of natural pickled garlic (no oil or other flavorings), Sriracha sauce, gochugaru (Korean chili pepper) and thyme.

The recipe is simple and can be made in less than five minutes. First, drain the vinegar from the bottle of pickled garlic and add a generous amount of Sriracha, a teaspoon of gochugaru and a sprinkle of thyme. After adding all of those together, close the lid and shake to perfection.

Lala’s pickled garlic creation was inspired by the kimchi her Korean neighbor used to give her family before they moved.

“I lost my source of kimchi and I had to come up with something and so I had pickled garlic at home because I like to eat it, and I just added Sriracha … but it wasn’t spicy enough so I added chili flakes and then I just experimented,” Lala explained in a follow-up video. “I love it. I know it’s not kimchi but it’s the best I can do!”

Though many commenters pointed out how garlic has a pungent smell, Lala noted that this particular recipe doesn’t since the garlic is pickled.

Her videos went viral on social media, with many users like @stephpappas, @blaireats, @annapaulbackup, OfficialSpiceKing, Cooking With Ayeh and Sarah Wohlner posting their, majority positive, reactions and attempts at recreating the snack.

Lala said she was surprised by the reactions.

“I can’t believe my garlic snack is a trend now. I’ve been getting tagged in so many videos and everyone that tried it and did it right, like used pickled garlic, and not just normal garlic, everyone loved it! I’m telling you guys, it’s delicious.”

Featured Image via @lalaleluu