Chili Crunch Oil

This spicy, savory, crunchy Chinese condiment is delicious on everything from rice or noodles to homemade sourdough pizza! It’s super fun to make and easy to customize just the way you want it.

Course Condiments

Cuisine Chinese

Keyword Condiment

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 15

Total Time 30

Servings 300 ml Jar

Calories 11kcal

Author Kate Freebairn

Equipment

Medium Heatproof Bowl
Medium Saucepan
Cooking Thermometer (not essential but super helpful)

Ingredients

15 g Chili Flakes
10 g Salt plus more to taste
8 g Chili Powder
8 g Sugar
2 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
220 g Vegetable Oil or peanut oil, or any neutral oil
80 g Shallots chopped, about 1 large shallot
50 g garlic chopped, about 12 cloves

Instructions

Combine the red pepper flakes, salt, chili powder, sugar, star anise, and cinnamon stick in a medium heatproof bowl. Mix thoroughly and set the bowl to the side of your stovetop.
Put the oil in a medium saucepan with plenty of extra room and heat over medium-high heat to 350°F/180°C (if you don’t have a thermometer, you can drop a piece of bread in the oil and it should turn golden-brown within 40 to 50 seconds if the oil is hot enough).
Carefully add the shallots to the hot oil - watch out as they will sizzle up! - and cook until the shallots start to brown. Stir occasionally with a wooden spoon. This will take about 4 minutes or so.
Once the shallots start to brown, add the garlic and continue to stir. Cook about 5 minutes longer, until both the garlic and shallots are a fairly dark golden-brown. You may see some uneven browning if some pieces of shallot or garlic are larger than others. If so, stop cooking once most of the pieces start to darken as you don’t want anything to burn.
Carefully pour the oil with the shallots and garlic over the spices in the bowl. The spices will sizzle and bubble for a bit, then will settle as the mixture cools. Once it calms down, mix the chili crunch oil thoroughly.
Let the mixture cool, then discard the star anise and cinnamon stick. Taste and add more salt or sugar as needed before transferring to an airtight container and storing in the refrigerator. If you want, you can sterilize a jar by pouring boiling water inside and letting it sit for a few minutes before filling with chili crunch oil.

Notes

You can use frozen chopped garlic or onions, just be sure to dry them off as much as possible with a paper towel or kitchen cloth before frying. You want to avoid adding very wet ingredients to hot oil, or the oil will spatter all over your stovetop!
You’ll find that the various bits in the chili oil will settle as it sits, so give it a good stir before spooning it over your food.
If you’re worried this chili crunch oil might be too spicy, you can always start with fewer chili flakes or less chili powder. I consider this version medium spicy, so it works for everyone in my family who likes spicy things!

Nutrition