Description
Incredibly easy homemade Chili Crisp will elevate your meals with a spicy burst of flavor and the BEST crunchy texture! Vegan and Gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 1 cup oil avocado oil, peanut oil, or light olive oil
- 1/3 cup dried minced onion flakes or dehydrated shallots
- 1 tablespoon dried minced garlic flakes
- 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes (*see notes for alternative suggestions)
- 1 tablespoon Aleppo chili flakes or gochugaru (*see notes for alternative suggestions)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 star anise
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons coconut sugar (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
Optional Aromatics: green or black cardamom pods, fresh ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns, and bay leaves.
Optional flavor additions: mushroom powder, toasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, or crunchy soy nuts.
Instructions
- In a small pot add oil, minced onions, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, gochugaru or Aleppo, salt, and cinnamon sticks and star anise.
- Place on the lowest heat for 30 minutes, stirring a few times. Do not exceed 225 degrees. (Too high of heat will result in burning the chilies which will make them bitter.) Watch closely and if you smell the chilies check the temperature with a thermometer. The oil should just very lightly bubble with tiny bubbles.
- Add into a separate medium-sized bowl, black pepper, smoked paprika, sugar, and soy sauce. Place a metal (plastic will melt!) fine mesh sieve over the bowl. When the chili oil has finished cooking, pour into the sieve letting the oil strain into the bowl over the spices. Spread the cooked chili mixture out in the sieve to cool for about 10 minutes and remove the aromatics (cinnamon sticks, star anise, and any other whole seeds added).
- Mix the toasted chilis in the strainer back into the oil. Store in a well-sealed container. Chili Crunch is shelf-stable for 3 months.
Notes
This recipe is pretty spicy, adjust accordingly. Keep in mind it is a condiment and you want it to be lively and flavorful, as you drizzle it on food the heat is nicely distributed.
Hot Chili Varieties: Sichuan chili flakes, red pepper flakes, japones, arbol chilies, or chipotle peppers.
Mild to Medium heat Chili Options: Aleppo, guajillo, maras, ancho chili flakes, Kashmiri or gochugaru chili flakes. We highly recommend combining different types of chilies for a more complex flavor. You can use ready-made flakes and powders or grind up from whole peppers.
It’s important to note that if you want Chili Crisp to be shelf-stable, you should use dried onion and garlic. However, if you prefer using fresh garlic, shallots, or onion, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. Or alternatively slow cook the alliums separately until fully crisp, as garlic and shallots that still have water content carry the risk of botulism.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 teaspoons
- Calories: 36
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 91.7 mg
- Fat: 2.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
- Carbohydrates: 2.3 g
- Fiber: 0.5 g
- Protein: 0.3 g
- Cholesterol: 6.2 mg