I can't resist giving a little update. When I went to the "right" Chinese store, I bought 4 or 5 jars of Lan-Chi chili garlic sauce. After my friends tasted the kale chips I made with it, I have ended up giving ALL of them away. It is cheap, and I can just go back and buy a few more jars sooner or later. It's fun to spread this concept around.
And -- to add to the Chinese etymology -- remember the Disney animation "Mulan" from a dozen years back? The girl who dresses up as a fighter and goes off to battle is based on a real heroine from ancient China. And the second half of her name is the same "orchid" character as the first character in Lan-Chi sauce!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hua_Mulan
Hua Mulan (Chinese: 花木蘭; pinyin: Huā Mùlán)