Making chilli oil

What it is¶

Chilli oil (in Sichuan, hóng yóu, "red oil") is neutral oil that has been infused with aromatics and poured, hot, over crushed dried chillies. It is a pantry staple of sichuan-cuisine and much of Chinese cooking, spooned over dumplings, noodles, cold chicken and cucumber. Keep the solids in and add fried garlic, shallots, peanuts and soybeans and you have a relative of chilli-crisp.

Ingredients¶

For about 500 ml:

• 500 ml neutral oil with a high smoke point: rapeseed (traditional in Sichuan), groundnut or sunflower.
• 50–80 g crushed dried chilli (flakes, not powder, or a mixture). Sichuan cooks use mild, fragrant varieties such as erjingtiao; Korean gochugaru is a widely available mild, bright-red substitute. Hotter chilli-flakes or bird's eye can be mixed in for more heat.
• Aromatics (optional but typical): 2 star-anise, a 5 cm piece of cassia or cinnamon, 2 bay leaves, 1–2 black cardamom pods, 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns, a few slices of ginger and a spring onion.
• 1 tsp salt, and optionally 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds and 1 tsp sugar.

Method¶

1. Prepare the chilli bowl. Put the chilli flakes, salt, sugar and sesame seeds in a heatproof metal or ceramic bowl, deep enough that the oil can foam up without spilling. Stir in 1–2 tbsp of the cold oil to moisten the flakes, which helps them toast evenly rather than scorching.
2. Infuse the oil. Heat the remaining oil with the aromatics over low-medium heat for 15–25 minutes, keeping it at roughly 110–130°C: a gentle, steady bubbling around the aromatics. They are done when the ginger and spring onion are shrivelled and golden. Do not let them blacken.
3. Strain out the aromatics.
4. Bring the oil to pouring temperature. Recipes vary: many pour at around 150–160°C for a toasty, rounded flavour and deep colour; some use a hotter first pour for toastiness followed by a cooler one for fragrance. Above about 180–190°C, most chilli flakes blacken and turn bitter.
5. Pour in stages. Pour about a third of the oil over the chilli; it should foam and sizzle vigorously. Stir, wait 20–30 seconds, then pour the rest.
6. Cool and rest. Leave uncovered until cool, then cover and leave overnight. The flavour and colour deepen considerably after a day.

Without a thermometer¶

Drop a single chilli flake into the hot oil. It should sizzle actively and darken to deep red within a couple of seconds. If it turns black immediately, the oil is too hot; if it barely bubbles, it is too cool. A wooden chopstick held in the oil should produce a steady stream of fine bubbles.

Safety¶

• Hot oil. Use a deep bowl, keep children and pets away, and never pour over wet ingredients: water in the bowl will make the oil spit violently.
• Fumes. Hot oil hitting chilli releases capsaicin into the air. Ventilate well and do not lean over the bowl (see handling-chillies-safely).
• Storage. Chilli oil made only with dried chilli, dried spices and strained aromatics keeps in a cool, dark cupboard for a month or two and in the fridge for longer. If you add fresh garlic, ginger or shallots that stay in the jar, treat it as a garlic-in-oil product: refrigerate and use within 4 days, or freeze. Deep-fried, crisp aromatics are much drier and lower-risk, but home cooks without lab testing should still refrigerate them. See infusing-oils.

Using it¶

Spoon over boiled dumplings with black vinegar and soy, stir into noodle dressings, drizzle over fried eggs or congee, or mix into mayonnaise. Use the oil for gentle heat and colour, and scoop up the sediment when you want more fire.

See also¶

• chilli-crisp
• infusing-oils
• sichuan-pepper
• capsaicin