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Home / Sauces, Spices, Condiments and Dressings / Chili Crisp Chinese Frozen Ginger Cubes
By Tonia | Feasting at Home • December 14, 2023
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This homemade Chili Crisp recipe will elevate your meals with a spicy burst of flavor and the BEST crunchy texture!
Chili crisp is a spicy, flavorful chili oil with “crispy bits” that originates from the Sichuan province of China, used as a condiment. Versatile and customizable, Chili Crisp has become an essential condiment at our table. Made with dried chilis, dried onion flakes, and spices and aromatics, it adds a zippy crunch and depth to almost everything.
We use a combination of hot and mild chili varieties, dried onions, and garlic to create a deep and complex flavor profile. Using dried onion and garlic not only saves preparation time but also gives the dish a super satisfying crunch. The chilies and onions toast lightly as the oil absorbs all the harmonious flavors, resulting in a heavenly flavor bomb.
This recipe is yours to shape and play around with. Make it spicy or mild, add more flavor with aromatics like green or black cardamom pods, fresh ginger slices, mushroom powder.
Further enhance the flavor by adding optional ingredients to the finished oil such as:
Feel free to experiment and adjust the ingredients based on your preferences.
In a small pot add oil, minced onions, minced garlic, red pepper flakes, gochugaru or Aleppo, smoked paprika, salt, and cinnamon sticks and star anise.
Place on the lowest heat for 30 minutes, stirring a few times. Do not exceed 225 degrees. (Too high of heat will result in burning the chilies which will make them bitter.) Watch closely and if you smell the chilies check the temperature with a thermometer. The oil should just very lightly bubble with tiny bubbles.
While the chilies toast, add to a medium-sized bowl, the black pepper, smoked paprika, sugar, and soy sauce.
Place a metal, fine-mesh sieve over the bowl. Pour oil into the sieve letting the oil strain into the bowl over the spices. Pick out the aromatics (cinnamon sticks, star anise, and any other whole seeds added). Spread out the cooked chili mixture. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the strainer.
Mix the toasted chilis back into the oil.
Store in a well-sealed container. Chili Crunch is shelf-stable for 3 months.
We can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe! In the comments, let us know your favorite dish to enjoy chili crisp with! Enjoy!
We love it over spooned over avocado toast and tossed with ramen noodles!
Or served with Tinned Fish! (My favorite!)
Chili oil is traditionally made with just crushed chilies and oil, while chili crisp incorporates crunchy, aromatic ingredients like dried minced onion and garlic flakes.
Chili crisp is made with oil, crushed chilies, dried minced onion and garlic flakes, salt, and sugar. We added cinnamon, star anise, pepper, smoked paprika, and soy sauce for even more depth of flavor!
The good news is, you get to control the heat in this recipe. As written this recipe is spicy, but keep in mind that this is a condiment that you can add to recipes to bring in a kick of heat, controlling the amount. See notes for milder chili flake options, or if you wish for more heat see the hot suggestions too!
Incredibly easy homemade Chili Crisp will elevate your meals with a spicy burst of flavor and the BEST crunchy texture!
Optional Aromatics: green or black cardamom pods , fresh ginger slices, Sichuan peppercorns , and bay leaves.
Optional flavor additions: mushroom powder, toasted sesame seeds, crushed peanuts, or crunchy soy nuts.
This recipe is pretty spicy, adjust accordingly. Keep in mind it is a condiment and you want it to be lively and flavorful, as you drizzle it on food the heat is nicely distributed.
Hot Chili Varieties: Sichuan chili flakes, red pepper flakes, japones, arbol chilies, or chipotle peppers.
Mild to Medium heat Chili Options: Aleppo, guajillo, maras, ancho chili flakes, Kashmiri or gochugaru chili flakes. We highly recommend combining different types of chilies for a more complex flavor. You can use ready-made flakes and powders or grind up from whole peppers.
It’s important to note that if you want Chili Crisp to be shelf-stable, you should use dried onion and garlic. However, if you prefer using fresh garlic, shallots, or onion, it can be stored in the fridge for up to 7 days. Or alternatively slow cook the alliums separately until fully crisp, as garlic and shallots that still have water content carry the risk of botulism.
Keywords: chili crisp, chili crisp recipe, chili crunch, spicy chili oil, chili oil recipe,
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Making this tonight and I am certain it will be as good as everything else I made made from this blog.
The instructions say to add paprika to the hot mixture and smoked paprika to the stuff in the bowl but ingredient list only shows paprika. Can you clarify?
Oh dear! Ok fixed it, smoked paprika is what it should be!
This sounds awesome. I love the idea of making this for Christmas gifts. I have a surplus of jaggery. Do you think that could be used instead of coconut / brown sugar?
Should work fine, just needs to melt into the oil.
I have read the instructions twice and understanding it between steps 4 and 5. What oil? From the chilli mixture? Do you mean pick out the cinnamon sticks and then add chilli mix to spices?
Hi Sandra, I tried to make the instructions more clear! Let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks! That makes it clearer. I know I’m going to love this recipe.
Great! It is so addicting!
I’m already eating this 5 stars because I know it’s going to be awesome as everything is I try of yours. I’m going to make it for Christmas gifts! If I use fried fried garlic and onions would that work? I can get those both delivered in time, or would it be redundant in cooking those back into oil?
Fried instead of dehydrated? Yes! You can add both or either. The dehydrated give such a nice crunchy texture. If you fry your own make sure they are completely cooked through with no moisture left as this can carry the risk of botulism. Hopefully I am answering your question?
Cant wait to make this for a few friends as gifts given they LOVE the options for it in the stores. I know that this will be even better! Why do I know this? Because your sense of balance with flavors & textures is so consistently ‘spot on’ in all the many recipes I’ve tried of yours!
Ahhh…so nice to hear this Welmoet! Love to hear what you think of the finished product.
Spread a bit over hummus and sprinkle with feta for an amazing dip!
Can you substitute Braggs Liquid Aminos for the Soy Sauce to make it Gluten Free?
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