If you are a fan of Chinese food then you have surely come across this famous tableside condiment. Chili crisp is all the rage these days, and for good reason. This homemade chili crisp recipe is a delicious and penny pinching way to add all the spice to your dumplings, meats, and more!
While chili crisp has been popular in China for centuries, it wasn’t until the late 90’s when Lao Gan Ma released their mass produced version to the world. However go into any restaurant in China and you’re likely to see their ‘homemade’ version on the table.
What Is Chili Crisp?
Chili crisp is a spicy infused oil that is mainly used as a condiment in Chinese cuisine. It is popular in both northern and southern styles of Chinese cooking, although the preparation method is different. Internationally it is used on everything from eggs and fish to salad and ice cream!
No two chili crisp recipes are the same, so don’t think you need to copy mine exactly. Feel free to get creative and play around with the ingredients!
Chili Crisp Ingredients
Since a good chili crisp is made with a strong infused oil you’re going to want excellent spices along with your peppers. This recipe is for one cup of chili crisp, but that just means it is very easy to scale up.
Infused Oil Ingredients List
- 1 cup Oil – soybean oil is what is most popular in China, but any neutral oil will work. I use sunflower oil as it works well too.
- 1 tbsp Allspice – this is also known as the Jamaica pepper and resembles a large, smooth peppercorn.
- 2 Star Anise
- 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns
- 1 tbsp Calabrian Chili – chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic – thinly sliced
- 1 Shallot – diced
- 10 Chile de Arbol – dried
- 2 Mini Sweet Peppers – you can just sub a bell pepper or other mild, fruity pepper for this ingredient.
Chili Crisp Ingredients List
- 1 cup Oil – same as you used for the infused oil
- 2 tbsp Red Chili Flakes
- 2 tbsp Gochugaru – these are Korean chili flakes mostly used for kimchi, but they are fruity and delicious and add great flavor to this chili crisp recipe
- 1 Shallot – diced
- 2 cloves Garlic – thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp Peanuts – chopped
- 2 tsp Fish Sauce – optional
- 1 tsp MSG – if you’re one of the people who like to pretend MSG is bad for you then feel free to leave it out or just replace it with salt
How To Make Homemade Chili Crisp
Add the infused oil ingredients to a small pot and bring to a simmer. I do this on the lowest flame my cooktop has because you want to do this as low and slow as possible. Use a wooden spoon to stir every so often, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
Let the pot simmer for about a half hour, or until the ingredients are almost black. If it looks like it is getting too hot too fast feel free to take it off the burner for a minute or two.
While the oil is simmering place the ‘chili crisp ingredients’ minus the fish sauce and msg into a jar. Feel free to add more of any ingredients if you feel it needs it.
After about a half hour the ingredients in the pot should be near black. This oil is delicious and so flavorful, but it isn’t very hot…yet. Turn the heat to the highest setting for about a minute, just to get the oil even hotter for the next step.
Lastly strain the boiling oil directly into the jar you put the ‘chili crisp ingredients’. The chili flakes, garlic, shallot, and the rest should hiss and pop as the oil essentially quick fries them giving that signature crisp crunch. Then stir in a tsp of the MSG which will give it’s signature umami kick. When cool you can add the fish sauce (it’s better uncooked in my opinion).
Tips & Tricks
- The popular Lao Gan Ma chili crisp uses Sichuan peppers for the numbing ma la property. I personally don’t like Sichuan pepper so I don’t add it, but if you do feel free to add it in!
- My style of making chili crisp is considered the northern style as I lived in Beijing for nearly 5 years and learned to make it there. The southern style simmers all the ingredients in the pot and then just removes the inedible stuff (like the star anise and allspice) before jarring.
- Homemade chili crisp will last about a month in the fridge in a well sealed container.
How To Use Chili Crisp
Chili crisp is a condiment which means that you usually put it ON things, as opposed to cooking with it. This makes it extremely versatile. Here are just some of the ways to use your homemade chili crisp!
- Use it instead of traditional hot sauce on top of fried eggs or avocado toast!.
- Spoon it over mushroom toast for a kick of heat
- Mix it into freshly boiled noodles for a quick and easy meal!
- The classic way! Drizzle chili crisp over shrimp or pork wontons for an authentic Chinese meal.
- Add it to tacos for a Mexican-Chinese fusion flavor blast!
Homemade Chili Crisp
Equipment
- 1 Pot small
Ingredients
Infused Oil Ingredients List
- 1 cup Oil soybean oil is what is most popular in China but any neutral oil will work. I use sunflower oil as it works well too.
- 1 tbsp Allspice this is also known as the Jamaica pepper and resembles a large smooth peppercorn.
- 2 Star Anise
- 1 tbsp Black Peppercorns
- 1 tbsp Calabrian Chili chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic thinly sliced
- 1 Shallot diced
- 10 Chile de Arbol dried
- 2 Mini Sweet Peppers you can just sub a bell pepper or other mild fruity pepper for this ingredient.
Chili Crisp Ingredients List
- 2 tbsp Red Chili Flakes
- 2 tbsp Gochugaru these are Korean chili flakes mostly used for kimchi but they are fruity and delicious and add great flavor to this chili crisp recipe
- 1 Shallot diced
- 2 cloves Garlic thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp Peanuts chopped
- 2 tsp Fish Sauce optional, if you add it the recipe is no longer vegan/vegetarian
- 1 tsp MSG
Instructions
- Add all of the infused oil ingredients to a small pot. Put on the lowest heat setting you have and allow it to infuse until the ingredients get almost black. This takes about a half hour, but could take longer.
- In a small jar (the one you are using to keep your chili crisp) add the 'chili crisp ingredients' except for the msg and the fish sauce. Set aside.
- After the ingredients in the pan are nearly black turn the heat up to max for just a minute. Then put a strainer over the jar with the uncooked ingredients and strain in the boiling oil.
- Stir in the MSG and when it cools completely stir in the fish sauce.
Notes
