Learn how to make Chinese chili oil (Chinese chili sauce), the essential seasoning for lots of Chinese cuisines, especially Szechuan-style dishes. And Elaine gets the secrets of making the perfect Chinese chili oil with strong enough flavor and bright red color.
What’s Chinese red oil
Chinese chili oil is also called red oil in China. It combines seasoning using red pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, mixed spices, ginger, and toasted sesame seeds. High-temperature oil is usually used to stimulate the pungent aroma of red pepper powder. But meanwhile, it brings dark red color instead of bright red color. We will add red pepper powder in two batches, poured over with oil at different temperatures. High-temperature oil can simulate a strong aroma while lower-temperature oil brings us a bright red color. Traditionally people in Sichuan first toast red peppers and then break them by hand using a stone grinder. But now we directly buy red pepper powders from the supermarket and this homemade Chinese chili oil can be finished within 10 minutes.
Types of pepper flakes
Our most concerns about the pepper flakes are how spicy they are, the aromatics, and the color. We love to combine different types, 3 even 4 types, of chili peppers to make the flakes for chili oil. Just for your information, I love to mix Er Jing Tiao (aroma and color), Bullet Head (aroma), and Facing heaven(hotness). If you are in the US, you can go to this shop and find those ingredients.
But it is ok to use easy-to-find chili flakes, even not-so-hot types can work fine with this chili oil. I use a store-bought toasted chili flake and the result is quite amazing too. So my suggestion is to use your familiar type. But read the instruction and see whether the chili pepper is toasted already. If not yet, pan-fry the pepper flakes over a slow fire until aromatic. “Toasting in a small amount of oil” is the key factor that influences the taste and flavor.
A tip about keeping the color
One of the common failures of making chili oil might be the bitter taste bought by the over-high oil temperature. At the same time, the lovely bright red color will be lost too. On one hand, we need the oil to be hot enough to activate the aroma of the pepper flakes, on the other hand, we need to be very careful to avoid burned pepper flakes. When where is the balance? It is extremely hard to control this if you only chili oil only once a time or even twice. This experience can only be formed hundreds of times. So here comes my solution!
It is extremely simple and I am amazed by the result. Prepare some clean water (or boiled water after cooked) and wet the pepper flakes first. This method has also been used in Laziji, a local popular mala chicken. We soak the chili peppers first before using them to avoid them turning dark in the later pan-frying process. That’s the magic!!
However, if you want the chili oil to be crispy a little bit, then you should skip mixing the water. You can try both types and see which type is best for you.
About the spices
In Sichuan cuisine, spices play important roles. If you visit a Sichuan-style restaurant selling Chongqing noodles, they use lots of herbs in the hot oil. It is ok to skip some of the spices but at least you need to prepare ginger, bay leaves, scallion white, star anise, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan peppercorn, and cloves.
Instructions
Place around 1 cup of red pepper powder in a bowl. Mix in water if you prefer. Or you can skip this for a more crispy version.
Pour around 3 cups of oil into a wok, add scallion, coriander, white onion, and smashed ginger first because they contain water. Heat over a slow fire until the aromatics begin to wither.
Continue heating with slow fire for another 6 to 8 minutes until the contents are all withered and browned.
Take out all of the spices and aromatics.
Heat the oil for another 2 or 3 minutes until slightly smoky. Pour 1/3 of the oil into the bowl.
Mix to combine.
Repeat the above process twice to add all oil to the pepper flakes.
Add toasted sesame seeds. You can also add toasted peanuts too.
Keep the chili oil in an air-tight container and this can be kept for up to one month at room temperature.
This chili oil can be directly used in the following recipes.
- Red oil wonton
- Poached Chicken with Chili Sauce (Saliva Chicken)
- Bon Bon Chicken
- Chinese coriander salad
- Dan Dan Noodles
- Szechuan dumplings
- Chinese smashed cucumber
- hot and sour lotus root salad
- Sichuan-style pork in garlic sauce
Chinese Chili Oil
Ingredients
- 1 cup red pepper flakes ,Sichuan style pepper flakes is fried before curshing
- 3 tbsp. water , optional
- 2 tbsp. toasted white sesame seeds
- 3 cups vegetable oil
Spices (it is ok to skip some of the spices, but keep the musts)
- 1 thumb ginger ,must
- 3 bay leaves ,must
- 4 star anise ,must
- 1 bark Chinese cinnamon
- 3 scallion whites ,must
- 1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn ,must
- 8 whole white pepper
- 1 Amomum tsao-ko ,Cao Guo
- 3 amomum kravanh ,White Dou Kou
Instructions
- Place around 1 cup of red pepper powder in a bowl. Stir in 3 tablespoons of clean water. Combine and let the pepper flakes absorb the water. If you want a crispy version, then skip mixing in the water.
- Pour around 3 cups of oil into a wok, add scallion, coriander, white onion, and smashed ginger first because they contain water. Heat over a slow fire until the aromatics begin to wither. Place all the spices in.
- Heat the oil for another 2 or 3 minutes until slightly smoky. Pour ⅓ of the oil to the bowl. Mix to combine.
- Repeat the above process twice to add all oil to the pepper flakes. Add toasted sesame seeds.
- Keep the chili oil in an air-tight container and this can be kept for up to one month at room temperature.
hi, my chili oil did not come out very spicy, any reasons why? i used the full amount but i also toasted them in a wok first, could that be why?
Thomas,
Are you using flakes or powders? How hot your oil is when pouring? Toasting the peppers in wok firstly can help to add some crispiness to the chili oil.
Hello Elaine
When i tried mine after cooking, it seemed like id burnt the chilli with the oil, how smoky should the oil be when pouring it in? (i used chili flakes not powder)
Jonathon,
I never test the temperature of the oil. But you can figure out on your side with small test. When pouring the oil, do not pour all of them. Just a small volume and see whether the flakes get burnt. If the oil is too hot, wait for around 1 minutes and try again.
Hi Elaine. Do I need to store this chili oil in the fridge?. Thanks.
No, transfer them in air-tight container. It can be stored at room temperature.
For the Red Pepper Powder….the ones I am finding are like a true powdery texture. In the picture it looks more like red pepper flakes. Should I mix part powder and part red pepper flakes? or is there a course powder option? link would be helpful.
Vanessa,
In fact, it is pepper flakes. But it is a very special one as the peppers are fried other than directly crushed. You can use this Sichuan pepper powder from amazon for an authentic taste.
Utterly delicious but just a bit too hot for me. The second time I made it I used harissa (a Spanish red pepper mix) and it gave it a different but still delicious twist. Next time I think I will use just a little bit less hot spice.
Jan,
You can try to mix in some Korean pepper flakes. They are much milder.
I just went to my local H Mart and purchased a bag of Szechuan peppercorns. On it it says they must be washed for 5 minutes and boiled for 30 mins before use. I have never heard of treating Szechuan Peppercorns this way. Any idea why it says that?
I have never heard about that treatment. But I found related information about the previous “U.S. import ban” , saying that the peppercorn should be heated for 10 minutes. I suggest you purchase other high quality Sichuan peppercorn to home cooking.
The whole family loves this recipe for Szechuan chili oil. We double the Szechuan peppers, and have used standard US crushed red chilies, it turns out great.
Thanks for the feedback Jeff. Double Szechuan peppers can make the oil slightly numbing but very delicious, I believe.
Thank you for the recipe! I was wondering why do the nutrition facts show so much sodium when no salt is called for in the recipe? The reason I ask is that I am looking for low-salt recipes for my dad who is on a salt-restricted diet.
Hi,
I calculated the nutrition facts based on 20 tablespoon of chili oil. And I carefully read each of the label and find the sodium comes form the pepper flakes.
Hallo Elaine!
I tried this recipe! It tastes perfect! Many many thanks for teaching us this recipe! Love your authentic Chinese cooking!
Thanks Am,
This is my favorite seasoning in kitchen. Hope you find more interesting matching with it.
Great recipe!!
I made red chili oil several times before, but not with all the spices or the hot then cooler oil method. This way is the best! I have already used it to make wonderful mouth-water chicken and dan-dan noodles, and it’s as good or better than my local Sichuan restaurant.
Thanks so much!
Olivier,
Thanks so much for trying out and leaving me such a great feedback. Now you can match with your chili oil with yummy dishes! Happy cooking!