Chilli crisp
Chilli crisp differs from ordinary chilli oil in that a good part of the jar is solids — crisp flakes of shallot, garlic and peanut that keep their crunch in the oil for a long time. One number decides it: the oil should be at about 130°C when it hits the chilli. Too hot (above about 160°C) and the flakes scorch and the whole jar turns bitter; too cool (below about 110°C) and they release neither colour nor aroma.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Frying the shallots 20 min
- Infusing the spices 10 min
- Pouring over the chilli 5 min
- Cooling 25 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneFry the shallots slowly until crisp
Put the very thinly sliced shallots into cold oil and fry over medium-low heat for 15–20 minutes, stirring. Lift them out while golden but not yet brown — they darken further on paper. Dropped into hot oil they scorch at the edges before the inside dries.
Ingredients: 500 ml oil · 3 pcs star anise · 1 pcs cinnamon · 1 tbsp Sichuan pepper · 2 pcs bay leaves
Lifted out golden — they brown further on paper.Fry the garlic separately and briefly
In the same oil fry the sliced garlic for 3–4 minutes, until pale golden, and lift it out at once. Garlic holds less water than shallot and scorches much faster — fried together you would get burnt garlic beside undercooked shallot.
Ingredients: 200 g shallots · 12 cloves garlic · 60 g peanuts · 3 tbsp sesame seeds
Infuse the oil with whole spices
Add the star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and bay to the oil and heat for 10 minutes over low heat, never letting it smoke. Then remove every spice — left in the jar they turn bitter over time and take over the flavour.
Ingredients: 500 ml oil · 3 pcs star anise · 1 pcs cinnamon · 1 tbsp Sichuan pepper · 2 pcs bay leaves
Whole spices over low heat — the oil must never smoke.Combine chilli, paprika and sesame in a bowl
Put the chilli flakes, sweet paprika, sesame and chopped peanuts into a large heatproof bowl. The bowl should be at least three times the volume of the contents — everything is about to foam up violently.
Ingredients: 60 g chilli flakes · 2 tbsp sweet paprika · 2 tbsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Pour over oil at 130°C
Cool the oil to 130°C and pour it over the chilli in three additions, stirring between each. It hisses and rises in foam. This is the moment that decides everything: without a thermometer, wait until the oil stops shimmering, about 4 minutes off the heat.
Ingredients: 500 ml oil · 3 pcs star anise · 1 pcs cinnamon · 1 tbsp Sichuan pepper · 2 pcs bay leaves
Three additions, violent foaming — 130°C, no hotter.Season and fold in the crunchy part
Stir in the soy sauce, sugar and salt — they will hiss, because that is water meeting hot oil. Wait until it stops bubbling and only then add the fried shallot and garlic. Added earlier they would soften and lose all their crunch.
Ingredients: 60 g chilli flakes · 2 tbsp sweet paprika · 2 tbsp soy sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Cool fully before sealing
Cool to room temperature, about 25 minutes, then jar it. Sealing warm oil puts condensation on the lid, and water in oil is a direct route to mould. Keep it refrigerated.
Ingredients: 200 g shallots · 12 cloves garlic · 60 g peanuts · 3 tbsp sesame seeds
Before you start
Which chilli flakes
Korean gochugaru and Sichuan flakes are mild and mainly there for colour. Ordinary European chilli flakes are far hotter — use half as much and make up the volume with sweet paprika, or you end up with a hot but colourless oil.
A month in the fridge
Garlic and shallot in oil are what limit its life — at room temperature they favour the growth of botulism bacteria, so always keep the jar in the fridge. There chilli crisp keeps for up to a month. Always use a clean, dry spoon — moisture and crumbs of food shorten its life considerably.
What to use it on
Fried eggs, noodles, dumplings, rice, roast vegetables, blue cheese, even vanilla ice cream. One rule: scoop from the bottom, where all the crunchy part you made this for has settled.