Chile Crisp

By Genevieve Ko

Published July 13, 2021

  • Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Victoria Granof.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
10 minutes
Rating
4(2,869)
Comments
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There’s just enough oil to slick all the crispy bits of chile, onion and sesame in this version of the spicy Chinese condiment, so it delivers as much crunch as it does salty, sweet, nutty heat. Dried minced onion from the supermarket spice aisle is a shortcut for the usual step of frying fresh minced onion, and it improves the crispness, too. You can experiment by mixing the hot and fruity flavors of different dried chile varieties, crushing them into flaky bits, or stick with ready-to-add red-pepper flakes. No matter what you use, this blend adds a little excitement to everything.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 1¼ cups

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

  • ¼ cup dried minced onion

  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt (Diamond Crystal)

  • ⅓ cup finely crushed dried small red chiles or red-pepper flakes

  • 3 tablespoons sesame seeds

  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground Sichuan peppercorns (optional)

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving

5 grams carbs; 300 calories; 21 grams monosaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 31 grams fat; 1 gram fiber; 130 milligrams sodium; 2 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
2,869 user ratings
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Comments

eleni

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.

witloof

You'll want to add sesame oil at the end, since heating it will destroy the fragrance.

witloof

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!

Randy

@CAS adding star anise when? After cooking is done? To oil before onion is cooked?

Sheri

I made some of this homemade because I bought some from Amazon and really loved it but be prepared to hurt the next day.

Paul from Germany

I wouldn't even call this Chili crisp, it's just so incredibly basic :)

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