How to Make Chili Oil

Learn to make chili oil using just 4 ingredients. This easy homemade recipe can be made in minutes, offering a healthy option without any trans fats or preservatives.

4.78 from 9 votes

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Course: sauce

Cuisine: asian

Diet: Diabetic, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 5

Servings:

Calories: 1635kcal

Author: Lei

Ingredients

50 g dried chilli pepper to make half cup of chilli flakes
1.5 cup oil less or more to your liking
3 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 pinch salt

Instructions

Making chilli flakes: Add the dried chilli peppers and one tablespoon of oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Toast on both sides until slightly browned and aromatic. Once cooled, you can crush the dried peppers in a blender to make the chilli flakes. Placing them with the salt in a heatproof bowl.
Heating the oil: Add 1.5 cup of oil and sesame seeds to the saucepan over low to medium heat and cook until the sesame seeds just turn slightly golden. Turn off the heat.
Mixing all together: Pour the hot oil and sesame seeds into the chilli flakes. Stir to evenly distribute the heat of the oil. Once it has cooled down, you can store it in a glass container for later use.

Notes

- Chili Pepper: I use a type of Chinese chili pepper called Er Jing Tiao. They are not very spicy but have a strong fragrance. You can use any dried chilies and be aware that Thai dried chilies are spicier than Chinese ones. If you have access to several types of dried chilies, you can mix them too.

- Oil: I use canola oil in this recipe. You can use other oil. Olive oil is a good alternative. But it does turn cloudy when you store it in the fridge.

- Sesame Seeds: The sesame seeds add a great flavor to this recipe. I also use them as an oil temperature indicator, and they turned lightly golden when the oil was at its perfect temperature.
- Safety: This recipe uses hot oil, so be careful not to burn yourself and keep it away from kids.

Container: The container to mix the hot oil and chili flakes must withstand the high temperature of the mixture.
Chili flakes: You can use store-bought chili flakes. These are less flavorful, so it’s similar to the difference between packaged coffee powder and fresh roasted and blended coffee powder.
Adding more flavours: These are many complex versions of the chili oil. You can infuse the oil with onion, ginger, coriander, and spring onion. Cook these ingredients with the oil over low heat until they are slightly brown. Drain out the oil then add the sesame seeds.

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