chilli crisp recipe

Homemade Chilli Crisp Recipe

If you’ve ever tried chilli crisp before, we’re sure you’d agree that it’s possibly the most versatile condiment to have on hand. A spicy yet savoury chilli oil, it’s set apart by crispy bits of caramelised onion and garlic amongst other spices , seasonings and aromatics. You can spoon it over anything and everything from fried rice and noodles to soups and salads, or even use it to cook your eggs for an elevated breakfast. Here we’re showing you just how easy it is to make your own chilli crisp at home, with this startlingly-simple recipe making use of store-cupboard staples.


Where Does Chilli Crisp Come From?

Chilli Crisp has Chinese roots, with the most well-known chilli crisp first bottled by Lan Gao Ma in 1997 using a recipe by Tao Huabi, the chef at the helm of a woman-owned noodle shop in the Guizhou province of China. This traditional version featured soybean oil, chile, onion, peanuts, soybeans, prickly ash powder, MSG, salt, and sugar.

At its core, chilli crisp is a savoury chilli oil condiment which masterfully marries flavours and textures, with a high ratio of crunchy crispy elements to chilli oil. It’s an endlessly adaptable recipe for which one essentially needs :

  • Oil
  • Crispy bits
  • Aromatics
  • Seasonings
  • Spices

You can really let your imagination run far when picking ingredients across these key categories! Some recipes use preserved black beans and nuts for the crisp, Sichuan peppercorns for spice and so on. In this case, we have kept the recipe fairly simple to stir together a quick and deliciously-simple chilli crisp that can be paired with almost any savoury dish on your table!


Ingredients For Making This Chilli Crisp Recipe

chilli crisp recipe

To make this chilli crisp you will need:

  • Onion – this is one of our two crispy bits in the chilli crisp. We cook down the onion until caramelised to a crisp perfection before adding it to our chilli oil base to transform it into a chilli crisp.
  • Garlic – this is the second crispy element in our chilli crisp. Thinly sliced cloves of garlic are cooked with the onions until golden.
  • Neutral flavoured oil – any cooking oil can be used for this recipe, but preferably you’d like to use a “neutral-flavoured oil” which does not impart any lingering flavour that would overwhelm the flavours of chilli oil. Suggested oils include
    • vegetable or rice bran oil
    • peanut oil
    • avocado oil
  • Aromatics – cinnamon and star anise are simmered with the onion and garlic to infuse the oil with their heady fragrance and subtle – albeit numbing – flavours.
chilli crisp

  • Chilli flakes – you can use a combination of gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) and regular chilli flakes. This is the main spicy seasoning in our chilli crisp.
  • Toasted sesame seeds – sesame seeds add a nutty undertone to our final crisp.
  • Soy sauce – we add just a splash to add a kick of umami flavour.
  • Brown sugar – just a pinch is perfect for a subtle sweetness.
  • Salt

How To Use This Homemade Chilli Crisp

You can use this chilli crisp to cook your eggs – the result is nothing short of revelatory, imparting shades of heat to elevate your next breakfast.

Chilli Oil Fried Eggs
Fried eggs cooked in chilli oil or chilli crisp are set to become your new favourite breakfast or brunch, served on rice, ramen or toast!
GET THIS RECIPE
chilli oil fried eggs

You can also use this chilli crisp to add a fiery flair over your final bowl of noodles , fried rice or even Asian-inspired salads. Some of our favourite dishes to pair with this chilli crisp include:

Ginger & Scallion Chilli Oil Noodles
A traditional Cantonese ginger scallion sauce is a starting point for a restorative chilli oil infused with a host of other condiments to coat your noodles with soul-stirring comfort. Miso is optional but highly recommended for the sweet-and-savoury kick of umami that it imparts!
GET THIS RECIPE
ginger scallion chilli oil noodles
Spicy Chilli Oil Cucumber Salad
Inspired by the  signature Korean dish “Oi Muchim," this spicy yet oh-so-refreshing cucumber salad is set apart by a sizzling chilli oil as its base. It's part sweet, part spicy and part tangy, with a craveable crunch too.
GET THIS RECIPE
chilli oil cucumber salad

chilli crisp recipe

Homemade Chilli Crisp

Ayushi Gupta-Mehra
Level up your homemade chilli oil with crunchy bits of onion and garlic for a versatile condiment that can be spooned over everything from eggs and fried rice to soups and noodles.
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine Asian

Ingredients
  

  • ½ cup chilli flakes (you can use a combination of gochugaru and chilli flakes)
  • 2-3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 cup neutral flavoured oil

Aromatics

  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1-2 star anise
  • 8-10 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced (into "chips")
  • 1 large onion, thinly sliced lengthwise

Instructions
 

  • Add the chilli flakes and/ or gochugaru, toasted sesame seeds, soy sauce and brown sugar to a large heat-proof bowl. Set this aside.
  • Combine the sliced onion, garlic and aromatics (cinnamon stick and star anise) with 1 cup of oil in a saucepan on medium low heat, stirring gently to cook.
  • Once the onions and garlic are caramelised and golden, strain them with a sieve. They will continue to crisp up with their residual heat.
    chilli crisp
  • Strain our the aromatics from the oil and pour the infused oil (whilst it is still hot) over your bowl of chilli-mixture. Give it a good stir, then add in the crisp onion and garlic.
    chilli crisp recipe
  • Store refrigerated in an air-tight container (for up to a few weeks ) and enjoy with abandon!

Video

Keyword chilli crisp, easy garlic chilli crisp, homemade chilli crisp, how to make chilli crisp

Enjoyed This Chilli Crisp Recipe?

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Homemade Chilli Oil
A jar of homemade chilli oil is the most versatile condiment to have on hand as you can add it to just about everything from eggs to noodles and even salads. The recipe below is easily adaptable to your taste – simply adjust the ingredients below as per your preference to recalibrate the flavours to your spice threshold!
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best homemade chilli oil

We’d love to hear from you! Do let us know if you try this recipe – you can leave a comment below and/ or tag us in your delicious creations on Instagram @the_foodiediaries.

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