Chinese Chili Oil Recipe: Simple To Make, Goes On Everything
This oil is so delicious! It can go on so many things: soup, avocado toast, stir-fry, burritos, roasted vegetables, etc. A jar of this lasts the two of us just 6 days since we were putting it on everything.
THE OIL. The first time I tried to make Chinese chili oil, the oil didn't get hot enough, so the flavor was so-so. This time, I wanted to get specific on oil temperature. Oils have different smoke points and you don’t want to go over the smoke point because that’s when free radicals are released. Here are some smoke points of oil I would use for this type of recipe as per The Food Lab cookbook by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt:
avocado oil: 520F
olive oil, extra-virgin: 375-410F
olive oil, light: 425F
safflower oil: 510F
I went with olive oil because I prefer the flavor. Since I didn’t have light olive oil, I searched out another source to see what they reported about cooking with extra-virgin olive oil. Serious Eats reports the smoke point of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil: 325-375°F. To be on the safe side, I went with heating the oil to 350F and the oil turned out perfect.
I also tried heating the oil at a lower temperature, 325F, but it wasn't as flavorful that time around. I like the brand California Olive Ranch First Cold Press, which was recommended by an Italian couple.
THE GARLIC. I'll use either regular garlic or Elephant garlic, which is milder in flavor, but larger in size; one clove of elephant garlic is about 4 cloves of regular garlic. The large size means you have less cloves to peel and the thick skin makes it easier to peel. It isn't as flaky and messy like it can be with regular garlic. You can mince the garlic by hand, but using a small food processor is much easier especially if you're making a larger batch.
THE SALT. I use Redmond’s Real Salt, a sea salt on everything. The amount used in this recipe is on small since you might be using this sauce on already salted foods.
Chinese Chili Oil Recipe
Yield: 12 ounces
Dry Ingredients
10 grams = 1/8 cup chili flakes (medium spicy)
95 grams = 3.5 oz = garlic, minced (4 cloves if using elephant garlic)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Wet Ingredients
205 grams = 7 fl. oz = 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
53 grams = 1 3/4 fl. oz. = toasted sesame oil
Directions
Prepare all dry ingredients, set aside.
In a medium pot, scale out oil (if using pre-minced garlic from a jar, thoroughly drain water from it and add to the oil at the start of heating it up). You don’t want to bring the oil temperature up too quickly, so on a medium flame, heat oil to 350F using a digital thermometer. Turn off the heat.
Keeping your face distant from the pot, stir in the rest of the ingredients.
Cool completely and transfer to a jar with a lid.
Optional: Once the oil is cooled down to room temperature, add a dash of sesame oil. Sesame oil loses its flavor when heated.
Now, each time I make this, I double the recipe (use a medium to large pot; the oil will rise once you add the chili flakes and garlic, so you want extra space). I keep one jar on the counter and it holds up fine for at least 1 week. We haven't kept it out for longer because we end up eating it within the week. I keep the second jar of oil in the refrigerator until I need it.
QUICK TIP
It’s faster to get minced garlic but be sure to thoroughly drain the garlic of water or it’ll splatter and pretty much explode if you add wet garlic to hot oil.
Leave it to sit and drain for 30 minutes and add it to the pot with the oil before heating it up. Starting with a low-medium flame, bring the temperature up to 250F, remove from heat, cool and store.