This recipe for a spicy homemade garlic chili oil makes the perfect condiment for, well, everything. Use a heaping spoonful as a replacement for butter when frying eggs, top of your Tofu Pad See Ew to pack a punch of spice, or even use it as a dipping sauce for dim sum.
Ingredients
- Chili: I like using Thai chilies for this recipe, but you can use your favorite pepper.
- Garlic: Finely diced garlic adds a great crunch after it’s fried.
- Oil: Use any neutral cooking oil for this recipe.
- Shallot: Adding a shallot (or even some onion) adds flavor and texture to this recipe. And who doesn’t like fried onion?
- Red Pepper Flakes: Using the red pepper flakes (the kind that you add to pizza) will add a mild spice without overpowering the recipe.
How to Make Spicy Homemade Garlic Chili Oil
Making this spicy garlic chili oil is a very satisfying condiment to make at home.
The most important step of following this process is to avoid burning any of the ingredients.
First, prepare all of your ingredients so you can place them into the oil. It only takes about 5 minutes to make this chili oil, so you will want to have all of your ingredients ready. Chop the garlic
Place the oil in a small or medium stock pot and heat over medium-high heat. After about 5 minutes, the oil should be just below its smoking temperature. Check to see if the oil is hot enough by placing the end of a wooden spoon in it. If you see small bubbles around the spoon, your oil is hot enough.
Add in the chilies and let those fry for about a minute, then add in the shallots and garlic. Let the ingredients continue to fry together for about a minute. Then add in the red pepper flakes and give it one more minute to fry. Give the chili oil a good stir.
Immediately take the pot off the heat and let your spicy chili oil cool for about 1 hour. Then move the oil to a airtight container – ideally a glass jar with an airtight lid.
Store your spicy homemade garlic chili oil on the counter next to your salt and pepper.
How to Pick Thai Chilies
The Thai chili is a versatile ingredient that allows you to customize your spice level.
For a more mild spice level, choose the darker green chilies. As the chilies become brighter, they become spicier. The redder the chili, the more spicy it will be.
I generally like to choose a variety of colored Thai chilies so I have a range of spice level to choose from.
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Spicy Homemade Garlic Chili Oil
Course: Side, CondimentCuisine: Asian, Asian AmericanDifficulty: easy20
servings5
minutes5
minutes90
kcalIngredients
1 cup 1 neutral cooking oil
5 5 Thai chilies
4 cloves 4 garlic
1/2 cup 1/2 red pepper flakes
1 1 shallot
Directions
- Finely chop all the ingredients. Chop the Thai chilies and remove seeds to make it less spicy. Dice the shallots and garlic. Set aside.
- Place the oil into a cooking vessel – I used a medium sized stock pot, but anything that holds heat well will work.
- Once the oil is hot and just below its smoke point, add in the Thai chilies. Let the chilies fry for about 2 minutes and then add the garlic and shallot. Allow to fry for 1 more minute and then add the red pepper flakes. Keep over medium high heat for about 1 more minute, then remove from heat.
- Allow the spicy chili oil to cool for about 2 hours. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
