Quick & Easy Chinese Chili Oil
Spicy, delicious, homemade chili oil infused with red chili flakes, garlic, ginger, onion and fragrant aromatics! This quick, easy and simple Chinese chili oil is all-natural, cheaper and better than store-bought. A great sauce to spice things up!
- Prep time
- 10 min
- Cook time
- 20 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 cups whole dried Sichuan red chilies (or 1.5 cups / 360 g Sichuan or Korean red chili flakes & skip Step 1)
- 3 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable oil (or neutral tasting oil )
- 1/4 tsp Sichuan pepper powder
- 3 tsp salt
- 4 slices ginger
- 1 small onion (quartered, or 1 shallot halved)
- 4 star anise
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 5 cloves
Instructions
- 1
Add dried red chilis into a food processor and grind on HIGH speed until they become small flakes.
- 2
Transfer the chili flakes into a large heat-proof bowl (made of steel, ceramic or heat-resistant glass) and avoid inhaling the spice. To the same bowl, add minced garlic, Sichuan pepper powder and salt. Set aside.
- 3
Heat vegetable oil in a large pot or wok on low-medium heat, around 250 F with a digital instant read thermometer. Or insert a wooden utensil into the hot oil and look for bubbles.
- 4
Carefully lower in the ginger, onion, star anise, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and cloves into the hot oil. Simmer on for at least 20-25 minutes for best fragrance. Stir occasionally.
- 5
Remove the aromatics from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and discard them.
- 6
Very carefully pour the hot oil into the bowl with the red chili flakes and let it bubble. Then stir the flakes with the oil to prevent the flakes from overcooking or burning.
- 7
Let the chili oil cool down and transfer to a sterilized glass air-tight jar. Store the sealed jar of chili oil in the fridge for up to 6 months, label with an expiration date and aim to use it within this time frame. Always use clean utensils when scooping chili oil from the jar to prevent contamination.*See below for other Storage info, Jar-Sterilization instructions and Signs of Expired Chili Oil