How to Make Chili Oil

Chili oil is an essential condiment in Asian cuisine, especially in Chinese cuisine. This homemade chili oil recipe is simple yet delicious and aromatic. Let’s learn how to make chili oil — Sichuan style chili oil.

Love sauce? Check out these black pepper sauce, ginger scallion sauce and teriyaki sauce recipes. 

What is chili oil? 

Chili oil is a condiment and typically red in color. It is made from vegetable oil, chili peppers and other spices such as Sichuan peppercorns and garlic. Also, it is commonly used in Chinese cuisine and Southeast Asia. Besides, it is often used as a dipping sauce for noodles, meat, vegetables, dim sum and much more. 

There are different ways and ingredients to make chili oil. Various areas of China, people called them slightly different such as yóu pō là zǐ  (油潑辣子 splash hot oil on chili peppers), là yóu  (辣油 spicy oil), hóng yóu (紅油 red oil) and là jiāo yóu (辣椒油 chili pepper oil).

Homemade Sichuan chili oil: 

This chili oil recipe that I am going to share is a Sichuan style chili oil because Sichuan peppercorns are used which have a numb spiciness. And, this homemade chili oil sauce tastes much better than store bought brands because of the aroma from the spices.

What are the ingredients for Sichuan chili oil? 

The ingredients are quite simple: vegetable oil, onion, green onion, ginger, bay leaves, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili peppers, garlic, salt, sugar and soy sauce. I like garlic. Therefore, I added 2 whole garlic. Besides, you can adjust the spiciness by reducing the amount of Sichuan peppercorns.

Cooking tips for how to make chili oil: 

• Wait until oil is hot around 350 F. You can use a wooden chopstick to test if the oil is hot enough. When you see some little bubbles around the chopstick, it means the oil is hot enough. 
• Be careful it will overflow when you put onion, green onion, ginger and other spices into hot oil. 
• Add the ingredients slowly or turn fire to very low when you add the ingredients. 
• Let it cook the ingredients for 15 minutes until the fragrance comes out. 
• Keep stirring it when adding salt, sugar and soy sauce. To prevent sticking at the bottom of the pot.
• You can adjust the amount of Sichuan peppercorns to your spiciness. 
• Since I like garlic, in this recipe I used 2 whole garlic. (You can just use one whole garlic if you want more oil than the filling.)

FAQs:

How hot is this chili oil recipe? 

This Sichuan chili oil recipe is not too hot. It is more mild to medium because I only used 1/2 tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns. You can add more or less Sichuan peppercorns according to your spiciness. 

How long does chili oil last? 

This recipe can last up to a few months if you store them in a shaded area with a glass container. 

Can I use fresh chili peppers? 

Sure! If you use fresh peppers, cook them in oil a little longer. The same time as adding minced garlic. 

Where can I use chili oil for? 

Most of the time, people like to use for noodles, meat, vegetables and as dipping sauce for dim sum. I use it for pretty much everything like mapo tofu, stir fried vegetables and even mac & cheese! Yes, you are right mac & cheese and alfredo pasta noodles. It does add more flavor to the food!

What is the difference between XO sauce and chili oil sauce? 

Although they look similar, the ingredients are slightly different. XO sauce is more seafood based like dried shrimp and dried scallops. On the other hand, chili oil is mainly garlic, chili peppers and some spices. 

Instructions for how to make chili oil: 

Preparation: 

1. Wash and soak 2 cups of dried chili peppers in a bowl for 15 minutes. 

2. Peel 2 whole garlic. 

3. Slice an onion (small). 

4. Half a bunch of green onion. 

5. Then, put the peeled garlic cloves into a chopper. Chop them until it's small. Don't need to be fine.  

6. Next, put the soaked dried chili peppers into a chopper. Chop them until it's small. The same don't need to be fine. 

Cooking:

7. After that, heat up 2 cups of vegetable oil. 

8. Until it reaches around 350F. You can use a wooden chopstick to test if the oil is hot enough. When you see little bubbles around the chopstick, the oil is hot enough. 

9. Slowly put onion and green onion into the hot oil. (Be careful it will overflow when you put onion, green onion, ginger and other spices into hot oil. I suggest to turn off the fire or to very low when you add them.)

10. Add 6 slices of ginger, 4 pieces of star anise, 4 bay leaves and 1/2 tablespoon of Sichuan peppercorns. (You can adjust the amount of peppercorns according to your spiciness.) Let it cook for 15 minutes, so the fragrance will come out. 

11. After that, remove all the spices and put on a plate. 

12. The following, slowly add the minced garlic. Stir them once a while and let it cook for 5 minutes. 

13. After, add the chopped chili peppers and let it cook for another 10 minutes. 

Seasoning: 

14. Lastly, add 2 tablespoons salt, 1 tablespoon sugar and 3 tablespoons soy sauce. Keep stirring them until the salt and sugar is melted. Let it cook for another couple minutes after pouring soy sauce. (Be careful when pouring soy sauce, it may overflow. Turn the fire very low or off when you add soy sauce.) 

Enjoy this amazing aroma Sichuan chili oil recipe! Also check out these steamed spareribs, beef broccoli and steamed fish recipes. 

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