20 Minute Chili Crisp

This 20 minute chili crisp is packed with umami, texture, and deliciousness. This is one of my favorite condiments ever and really love putting it on rice, dumplings, sauces, and noodles. I will be going into detail the specific ingredients that I use.

20 minute chili crisp vs chili oil

For those who have never had chili crisp, it is actually very similar to chili oil. Usually I find that chili crisp is less spicy buy has more flavor and texture. The extra flavors and textures come from the addition of crispy garlic, shallots, peanuts, and sesame seeds. It’s like chili oil on steroids which is why I prefer chili crisp to chili oil now.

Dried red chili flakes for 20 minute chili crisp

For this recipe, I used a mixture of Chinese red chili flakes and gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes). The Chinese red chili flakes are make from dried red chilies and are different from Szechuan pepper flakes. Szechuan pepper flakes give off a numbing sensation which is not what I enjoy. The gochugaru gives a smokey and flavour without much spice which is why I add that in as well. Feel free to experiment and use any red pepper flakes you personally enjoy most! Here is a picture of what I use.

MSG

MSG or monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer that is very popular in Chinese cooking. However, you can find MSG in many processed foods such as chips and instant noodles. This is definitely an optional ingredient but it does add umami and flavor to the condiment.

Toasted sesame seeds

You can buy toasted sesame seeds or toast them yourself. By toasting them, you released the oiled from the sesame seeds and they become much more aromatic especially when added to the chili crisp. I decided to toast them myself by heating them over medium heat until it looked like this.

Aromatic oil

In many chili oil/crisp recipes, you will find a step where it is recommended to simmer your oil in aromatics such as star anise, bay leaves, and ginger. Since I am making an “easier” version, I will be skipping this step. Instead, I used the crispy shallot and garlic oil which is incredibly flavorful already.

Crispy shallots and garlic

To make our crispy shallots and garlic, we will need to start by thinly slicing the shallots and garlic. Try your best to keep them similar sizes otherwise they will not cook evenly. Add the shallots and garlic into cold oil and slowly bring the oil up in temperature. This process might take anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on the heat. Sometimes I get impatient and turn the heat up too high but that increases the chance of them burning. Remove once light brown in color as they will continue to cook even after removed from oil. Don’t forget to save the oil though because this is what we use for the chili oil.

20 Minute Chili Crisp

This is an umami packed chili crisp recipe that can be done in 20 minutes.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine cantonese, Chinese

Ingredients

  

• 1½ cups neutral oil (I use corn oil)
• 2 large shallots
• 8 cloves garlic
• ½ cup Chinese red chili flakes
• 2 tbsp gochugaru (Korean red chili flakes)
• ¾ tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp MSG (optional)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

 

• Thinly slice garlic and shallots. They should be even and look like this.
  
• Pour oil into a sauce pan then add your garlic and shallots. Turn up the heat to med-high and continue to stir until they start to brown then set aside. You will see bubbling and this might take anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on temperature.
• While the garlic and shallots are cooking, mix both red chili flakes, sugar, salt, and MSG into a heat proof container. I use stainless steel because the high temperatures might cause cracks in glass.
• Once the shallots and garlic are done cooking, heat up the same oil up to 350F and then pour it over the red chili mixture.
• Add soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and the crispy shallots and garlic. Mix and enjoy!

Keyword chili, chilicrisp, crispy

If you enjoyed this, check out some more recipes here:

• Crispy Cantonese chow mein
• Salted egg yolk chicken wings
• Honey walnut shrimp