Name: Crispy Chilli Oil
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup Chilli Flakes; 1/2 cup Fried Shallots; 1/2 tsp Five Spice Powder; 1 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Sugar; 1 tbsp Chicken Powder; 1 tbsp Sichuan Peppercorns; 1 tsp Cumin (optional); 2 Cups Vegetable Oil (or any other neutral tasting oil); 1 Star Anise; 2 Bay Leaves

How to make this easy and addictive Crispy Chilli Oil in just 15 minutes!

I love Chilli Oil! I have an oldie-but-goodie Chilli Oil recipe here, and this Crispy Chilli Oil is an even easier version! A quicker chili oil recipe, with the added flavours and crisp from fried shallots, I’ve been making this much more often.

Although full disclosure, I rarely follow this list of ingredients – I always freestyle my Chilli Oils based on what I have on the day! My original recipe requires a long infusion time – at least an hour – to get full flavours in the oil. Even though it’s quite foolproof (since you don’t need much active time) sometimes I want it done as fast as possible.

Why is this Crispy Chilli Oil So Special?

For one easy addition – Fried Shallots or Fried Onions! Not only does it add that crunchy crisp to the chilli oil, the amount of instant flavour it adds to the chilli oil is another level.

You can make your own fried shallots by deep frying shallots until golden brown and season with salt… but I use the ready made stuff. Not only are they so cheap and widely available here in Singapore, they’re always perfectly seasoned and crispy! It just does not make sense for me to make it from scratch.

I also use Chicken Powder here, it helps elevate the flavours even more, because MSG. You can also just crumble in a chicken stock bouillon cube – or any other bouilllon cubes you have at home! This is optional though. Use mushroom seasoning powder for a vegan version of Chilli Oil.

What Type of Chilli Flakes to Use?

Use whatever chilli flakes you have available. If you can find Sichuan chilli flakes that would be best – these chilli flakes will get you the best combination of that fiery red colour, flavour and spice.

I rarely hunt this down, instead I use a blend of Gochugaru and Thai Chilli Flakes – which I always have in my pantry – to get the best combo of colour and spice. Gochugaru adds colour, but mine is not spicy. This is why I add the Thai Chilli Flakes, which are super spicy! It doesn’t add much colour though.

What Spices to Use for Crispy Chilli Oil?

I used a few spices for this Chilli Oil, namely:

Sichuan Peppercorns: This Sichuan ingredient is so unique and not replaceable at all. This ingredient gives a fun, numbing sensation on the tongue and as strange as that sounds, it gets addictive. You can infuse this in the oil, but I prefer dry toasting it, and grinding it to a powder for a better punch of flavour.
Cumin: This is optional. I love cumin, so I like its flavour for my Chilli Oil. Omit if you’re meh about it or you want a simpler and more versatile Chili Oil.
Star Anise and Bay Leaves: I’m using Star Anise and Bay Leaves here, because they’re bigger chunks of spice.
Five Spice Powder: Other spices you can use includes cloves, cinnamon, cardamoms, but I personally am too lazy to strain these out of the oil – so I use five spice powder instead! This is optional though. If adding, make sure to not add too much otherwise it will an overwhelming flavour. You want the above spices to shine more.

What if I want to make a Basic Chilli Oil?

Do I really need to source all these ingredients? Listen, I get it.

All you really need are chilli flakes, salt, sugar and neutral tasting oil! Combine the chilli flakes, salt and sugar in your heatproof bowl. Heat the oil to a medium and gently pour in the chilli flakes mixture.

Done!

What do you need to make this Crispy Chilli Oil

Ingredients:

Chilli Flakes
Sichuan Peppercorns
Cumin
Five Spice Powder
Salt
Sugar
Chicken Powder
Fried Shallots
Neutral-Tasting Oil
Star Anise
Bay Leaves

Equipment:

Saucepan
Spice mill or pestle and mortar
Heatproof Bowl: I used a heatproof stainless steel measuring cup for easy and mess-free pouring into the Glass Jar! I highly recommend investing in one if you plan to make chilli oil regularly.
Glass Jar Container

How Long to Keep Crispy Chilli Oil

Depending on how well you’ve cleaned, sanitised and dried your containers, this can last two weeks in room temperature. Perhaps even longer. Make sure the crisps are all submerged in the oil. If you want this to last even longer, you can store this in the fridge. The oil might solidify in the cooler temperature though so I do not do this.

Of course, with any food products, if you notice mould, or it smells off, please discard immediately!

I prefer using a glass jar for my Chilli Oils as they are more resistant to bacteria and it does not retain smell or stains from the chilli oil after you’re done.

What to Serve with Crispy Chilli Oil

Whenever I make Chilli Oil, it NEVER lasts long in my house! I use it on almost everything! A drizzle over fried rice, noodles, pastas… sometimes I would even fry up an egg, serve it over rice, drizzle on chilli oil and it’s the most satisfying lazy dish ever!

Some easy recipes you can try that goes exceptionally well with Crispy Chilli Oil:

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