Learn how to make this simple, aromatic Chile Crisp. Tingly, spicy, salt, nutty, fragrant. Add a fiery, umami punch of flavour to noodles, dumplings, soups, and even fried eggs. Ready in under 10 minutes and easy to create a huge batch.
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What is Chile Crisp?
Chile Crisp (or Chili Crisp, Chili Oil) is a spicy, aromatic hybrid of a condiment and infused oil originating from China. It's used to add a FIERY punch of umami, fragrant flavour that wakes up any dish. I love splashing Chile Crisp over steamed rice noodles, dumplings, and topping it on wonton soup. It's a great condiment to have on hand that binds a dish together and allows it sing.
Every Chile Crisp recipe is made of a base of oil and toasted chile flakes. From there, there's virtually endless variations depending on your preference of aromatic seasonings to include. Most common are: sliced garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, star anise, cinnamon.
Ingredients to Make Chile Crisp
Base:
- Neutral tasting cooking oil with high smoke point (canola, peanut, sunflower oil)
- Dried chile flakes (use Sichuan chile flakes for extra authenticity points and an addictive, spicy-numbing flavour)
Suggested seasonings:
- Soy sauce (salty, umami)
- Sugar (adding sweetenes compliments the spice perfectly)
- Chicken broth powder (my secret for an umami boost)
- Thinly sliced garlic (include this to maximal CRISPY texture)
- Star anise (aromatic, licorice-like flavour)
- Crushed peanuts (adds crunch)
- Sesame seeds (nutty and aromatic)
- Ginger (spicy)
- White pepper (complex, floral-sweet spice)
- Cardamom (floral)
- Fermented black beans (umami)
- White vinegar (acid to cut through the spice)
You can modify the seasonings to your taste, but here's a simple version my family loves:
- Sesame seeds
- Crushed peanuts
- Star anise
How to Make Chile Crisp
I've simplified the traditional Chile Crisp recipe to save time and making it more accessible to wider audiences. Traditional recipes are more of an art, involving whole, dried chiles and processing them through multiple steps. My recipe just calls for the dried flakes.
In a nutshell, you put all the chile flakes and seasonings in a heat-proof bowl. Then, heat oil on medium heat until it's hot and shimmering (but not bubbling).
Pouring oil over the spices toasts it and creates a crispy texture. Finally, pour over the chiles and seasonings and stir. Let "steep" overnight and voila.
How Hot Should The Oil Be?
It should be hot enough that it's shimmering (190°C/ 375°F), but not hot enough that it's bubbling. If it's too hot, your spices will burn. Too cold, then the spices won't toast to release their flavours. "Shimmering" is a temperature you can eyeball, and is the goldilocks-level of heat to make chile crisp.
Important Safety Tips
While my recipe is pretty simple, there's always risks when working with hot oil. Please follow my tips to keep safe:
- Make sure the pot you're heating the oil in has absolutely NO moisture in it before you add the oil. Oil and water will cause splattering. You can heat the pot for 3 minutes to evaporate any moisture before adding the oil.
- Use a heat-proof container to make the chile oil. Using a normal bowl (or anything plastic) will make it shatter or melt.
- Don't overheat the oil. If it's bubbling hot, it can cause splattering and even a fire.
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Recipe for Chile Crisp
Simple Chile Crisp (Easy) (香辣脆)
Ingredients
Base
- 1 cup neutral cooking oil peanut, canola, sunflower
Must-Have Dry Seasonings
- ½ cup dried chile flakes
- 1 teaspoon chicken broth powder
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
Reccomended Dry Spices
- 1 tablespoon crushed peanuts
- 1 tablespoon seasame seeds
- 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 pods star anise
- 1 stick cinnamon
Recommended Wet Seasonings
- 1 tsp soy sauce add AFTER oil is mixed into dry spices
- 2 tablespoon white vinegar add AFTER oil is mixed into dry spices
Instructions
- Mix dry spices together in a heat-proof bowl. Set aside.
- Heat oil: place oil in a pot over medium heat. Let oil heat up until it's shimmering, around ~2 minutes (190°C/ 375°F). Do not let the oil bubble or boil.
- Make chile crisp: slowly drizzle the hot oil over the dry spices. Then, stir in wet seasonings. IMPORTANT: add wet seasonings ONLY after the oil has been poured first, to avoid hot splattering.
- Stir well and store in a glass container. Keep in fridge for up to a month.
Notes
- Soy sauce (salty, umami)
- Sugar (adding sweetenes compliments the spice perfectly)
- Chicken broth powder (my secret for an umami boost)
- Thinly sliced garlic (include this to maximal CRISPY texture)
- Star anise (aromatic, licorice-like flavour)
- Crushed peanuts (adds crunch)
- Sesame seeds (nutty and aromatic)
- Ginger (spicy)
- White pepper (complex, floral-sweet spice)
- Cardamom (floral)
- Fermented black beans (umami)
- White vinegar (acid to cut through the spice)
