Chili Oil

Oh this chili oil? The oil that some people say I should bottle up and sell? Yes this is it. It is guaranteed to level up any dish you make.

I can’t stress enough how easy is to make. It’s as simple as throwing all the spices in a bowl and pouring hot oil over them. There. You’re done.

The only hard part may be finding these spices. I’ve only found them in Asian grocery stores. Make sure you use Sichuan chili flakes to get your oil a brilliant red color.

The great thing about chili oil is that you can customize it to your liking. Add or remove some spices to achieve the exact flavor you want. I have found that 1 to 1 1/2 cups of oil is a great place to start.

Sichuan chili flakes alone won’t make the chili oil spicy. If you want a spicier oil, add Thai bird chilis, preferably the fresh ones. I like adding the dried ones, but those don’t really do it for me. I was at my aunt’s house one weekend complaining that I couldn’t find spicy chilis. She was like, “Oh you want spicy? Take these”. She gave me a bag of bird chilis that she had been growing. I just popped one in and yep. It was spicy.

Let it sit! It will be good to eat after 2 hours, but the flavor will really deepen if you let it sit for a day. After it has sat for a day, strain the oil from the spices and keep in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge. I like to include some of the chili flakes in the jar so they continue to get soaked by the oil.

I think chili oil goes with practically anything. I will dump it on any Asian noodle dish, and also love adding it to stir frys. Here are a couple dishes it will definitely be good with:

• Chinese spare rib soup
• Meat dumplings