Aah Chili Oil. I consider this a pantry staple, and I use it for so many things. I always prefer making my own Chilli Oil, it’s quick and easy, and I get to customise it to my tastes. In Singapore especially, the go-to chilli oil to buy would be the Lao Gan Ma brand. While I love it, I find the taste too distinct. When you’re making dishes that requires chilli oil especially, such as Mapo Tofu, I hate that you can just… taste, the Lao Gan Ma.
Spices
This is where you can really have fun. In this recipe I used cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamoms, bay leaves and sichuan peppercorns. Usually I don’t include cinnamon as it tends to impart a stronger taste, albeit not a bad one. You don’t have to use all these spices too. I freestyle whatever spices I have on hand each time I make a new batch.
You can add aromatics like garlic and ginger, but your chilli oil will not be able to last as long. You will also need to store in the refrigerator so it doesn’t go rancid.
I use just dried spices, so this can last some 3 months in room temperature… because these are all finished and used up by 3 months in my house!
Chilli Flakes
The spices add an extra something to the dish, but it’s not as important as the Chilli Flakes. Sichuan Chili Flakes would be the best to use to get the right heat and colour, but it’s not that easy to find here in Singapore. I use instead, Gochugaru or Korean Red Pepper Flakes, which imparts a gorgeous colour, but isn’t that spicy. Another option would be Thai Chilli Flakes, now this stuff is spiccccyyy. I like to mix the Thai Chilli Flakes with the Gochugaru.
I would not recommend the Italian Red Pepper Flakes that you would top your pastas and pizza. They’re not spicy nor flavourful, and you will not get a fiery red colour oil. A better bet would be to use dried chipotles, and blitz in a food processor to get flakes.
Use Heat Proof Bowls
For obvious reasons. Try not to use glass, as much as it advertises as heatproof. The glass might break when the hot oil hits. I used a metal bowl, but you can also just use a cooking pot.
Ways of Using Chilli Oil
As a condiment for noodles is a favourite way for me to use Chili Oil. Mix some chilli oil in a bowl with soy sauce, vinegar and garlic, and drop in freshly cooked noodles. Stir that up and you get a flavour bomb of an instant noodle. This is typically my lunch. Sometimes I also like to cook a fried egg, top rice with it, and ladle on a nice dollop of chilli oil on top of the egg. Mmm.
It’s also amazing in dishes, such as for Mapo Tofu, with Wantons, and as a finishing touch for Cumin Beef Stir Fries.
My Easy Go-To Homemade Chilli Oil Recipe
4
servings10
minutes40
minutesIngredients
1 Cup Chilli Flakes
2 cups Neutral Tasting Oil
2 tsps Salt
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Star Anise
5 Clove
7-8 cardamom
3 tbsps Sichuan Peppercorns
2 Bay Leaf
Directions
- In a dry pan, add the cinnamon, star anise, clove, cardamom and sichuan peppercorns. Over low heat, dry toast the spices. Swivel pan about so spices do not burn.
- Once a bit of smoke releases, add the oil. Keep a low heat, and leave the oil to gently and constantly bubble with the spices for at least 20 minutes. You can leave it on for as long as an hour even to get as much infusion as possible. Be careful to not burn spices. If you have a thermometer, make sure it hovers at 120 degrees C.
- While spices infuse, mix together chilli flakes and salt in a heat-proof bowl.
- Once you’re ready, spoon a bit of oil and pour it over the chilli flakes to make sure it’s not too hot. The chilli flakes should sizzle, and not smell burnt. This is important. If it smells burnt, let the oil rest off the heat for about 5 minutes. Once ready, pour the oil all over the chili flakes. Use a wire sieve to catch the spices. It should sizzle and bubble.
- Stir through and your chilli oil is done! After it cools, store in a jar and let it sit overnight to let the flavours fully develop.
Did you make this recipe?
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