ramyaramesh3007This chili oil will remind you of Din Tai Fung’s famous hot chili oil, but it’s completely vegan and gluten free! 5 ingredients and just 5 minutes.
Lao Gan Ma Chili Sauce is a staple in many people’s’ pantry but it’s time you try making it at home! It’s incredibly simple once you find the right ingredients (many asian stores must have it). Even if you can’t find the ingredients – fret not, because chili oil is incredibly versatile.
When I asked you if you preferred a higher chili crisp-to-oil ratio or oil-to-crisp ratio, most of you responded saying you’d like a higher chili crisp-to-oil ratio. And this recipe is just it. However, I believe that there are pros to both kinds.
Higher crisp-to-oil ratio: allows for more flavour, but you still need to add additional oil, sauces if you’re making a saucey dish.
Higher oil-to-crisp ratio: you can use the oil here to flavour many dishes, substituting the oil required in many dishes. This is how I create most of my recipes because it just makes life a little easier.
But again, it’s completely up to you! Because of how versatile this recipe is, you can literally make it however you want.
What You Need
- shandong chili flakes – these are super flavourful and I found them in my local supermarket. They are also not insanely spicy so it doesn’t become too overwhelming. For a spicier version, source for chili flakes with the seeds in them. For a less spicy version, the opposite.
- toasted sesame seeds – this nutty flavour is quintessential to a flavourful chili oil.
- sichuan pepper powder (or prickly ash powder) – for that numbing-ness but it’s not too overwhelming when added to chili oil. I love sichuan pepper!
- 5-spice powder – ground spices that elevate the flavour profile.
- neutral oil – you can use sunflower or any neutral vegetable oil. Avocado oil also works great, though it’s slightly more expensive.
- salt (to taste) – you can replace this with soy sauce but I prefer salt so I can customize the soy sauce levels in my other dishes.
5-min Homemade Chili Oil
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup shandong chili flakes
- 3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1/2 tbsp sichuan pepper powder (or prickly ash powder)
- 2 tsp 5-spice powder
- 3/4 cup neutral oil
- salt (to taste)
Whole Spices (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 star anise
- 4-5 cloves
- 2 tbsp sichuan peppercorn
- 1 cinnamon stick
Instructions
- Heat up your oil. The easiest way to check if your oil is hot is to stick wooden spoon or chopstick into the oil. If you see many bubbles form (but not too many that it seems boiling) around the wood and they start to float up, your oil is hot.
- Add the other ingredients into a heatproof bowl. Add the oil in and let it sizzle.
- Once it dies down, give it a good mix and add some salt to taste. At this point, you can also add some soy sauce but I prefer to customize it for various dishes.
- You can store this up to 6 months in the fridge.
Loved this! How would I adjust if I wanted a higher oil to crisp ratio? And what is your suggested salt measurement for this?
Hi Mira! 3/4 cup oil to 3/4 cup flakes gives a good oil to ratio. Any less oil than this and it will be too less. I added about 1.5 tsp but you can adjust according to your personal preference. I usually add soy sauce to the dishes I use this recipe in, so I added slightly lesser salt than desired. Hope this helps!