Chili Crunch/Chili Oil

I'm going to need some help here fleshing out this thread; I have just recently discovered this amazing thing.

Chili Crunch Oil

My brain is still processing what exactly it is that I like about it but this seems to be an incredible condiment for the kitchen.



My understanding is that it is originally a chinese condiment made of a mixture of onions, garlic, chili, and spices all in an oil. There are a ton of variations out there in existence really making the possibilities endless.

I have really only tried it over eggs but I'm looking for inspiration. Do you make your own? Any favorite uses?

It reminds me of the shaker of dried chili peppers at Pizza restaurants.

I bet that would make a great topping to put on pizza after the sauce, then top with other ingredients.

Sorry, I am not in favor of bold flavors.

Timothy, there's always a jar of chili & garlic oil in our pantry.

I have found that the texture of the garlic is best chopped rather than crushed if you want it to be crunchy and both dried and fresh chilis work equally well.

The last batch that I made was with fresh trinidad scorpions I'd grown.

Heat the oil, preferably peanut until smoking and turn off the heat.

Add the garlic and stir constantly, you dont want the garlic to burn. Once the garlic has separated, add the chopped chili and if necessary, turn the heat back on.

Once the garlic is nicely golden brown, cool and transfer to a jar.

You can take out some of the cooked chili & garlic oil and add black beans - if using whole black beans, wash, crushed and lightly cook the black beans in peanut oil first.

I also add soya sauce and a little sesame oil, that's the jar to the right.

Most of the time I use the sauce as a condiment with noodles - egg, rice and/ramen.

We eat a lot of chili crisp. It goes into stir-fry sauce, it tops rice, it goes on eggs and oven-roasted veggies, and it's a great marinade. But oddly, I haven't ever made my own.

You should probably also know that salsa macha exists.

It goes great as a contrast to sour cream or mayo on a sandwich or burger.
The heat/crunch vs the cool/creamy  is exquisite.
(Yes, my kiddo uses sour cream instead of mayo on his burger)

All of the chili crunch I find at our giant asian grocery has a bunch of chemical preservatives that the Trader Joe's version doesn't.
That alone is reason.enough to encourage me to make my own, but honestly the fridge is full of sauces already...