Chile Crisp
Published July 14, 2021

- Total Time
- 10 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- ½cup vegetable oil
- ¼cup dried minced onion
- 1teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1½teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)
- ⅓cup finely crushed dried small red chiles or red-pepper flakes
- 3tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1teaspoon coarsely ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
Preparation
- Step 1
Combine the oil, onion, ½ teaspoon sugar and ½ teaspoon salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion becomes evenly golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Step 2
Add the chiles, sesame seeds and Sichuan peppercorns, if using, and sizzle, stirring, for 1 minute, then stir in the remaining ½ teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Spoon over everything. It adds big flavor to milder bases, such as eggs, tofu, noodles, rice, vegetables, white fish, lean pork and chicken breast.
Private Notes
Comments
they are replying to a suggestion by one reviewer to use half vegetable oil and half sesame oil. That is the problem with sorting the Cooking Notes by "most helpful" - you never see the original post, as in this case, nor any answers/suggestions to "most helpful" questions that others have !! I wish NYT would add a tag to indicate that the Cooking Note is a reply to another note, as they do with the reader comments on other articles.
You'll want to add sesame oil at the end, since heating it will destroy the fragrance.
Lisa Lin, whom I follow on Instagram, posted a recipe for a sauce which consisted of frying a lot of minced garlic until it was just brown then mixing it with chili crisp and sesame oil, then topping asparagus with it. No matter how much I make, it's never enough!
The term “addictive” is overused in regards to food, but this chile crisp really has a troubling hold over me. Whenever I make it I put it on anything and everything. I find all sorts of weird ways to eat it just to get a fix—I literally ate it on a cold, leftover blueberry pancake last night. It also rather severely upsets my stomach. And yet I can’t stay away. I make it exactly as directed. Take this comment as a recommendation and/or a warning.
@JM I made this recipe last week and it is indeed vindictive! I have had it every day was sautéed vegetables since then. I have about one or two tables left and I'm already planning a bigger batch today.
This can last 2 months in the refrigerator in my experience, if you can keep it around that long
This turned out good, I halved the recipe because just me and still ended up with a ton of it. I couldn't put more than a dab on my meal because it is so spicy. And recipe says lasts for 2 weeks only, so not sure I'll be able to eat it all. If I make it again I'll quarter the recipe.
