Chili Crisp

Chili crisp has been blowing up lately, and with good reason: the stuff is delicious. Dried chilies, crunchy onions, toasted sesame seeds, and Sichuan peppercorns float in salty, sweet, and vibrantly red oil. It’s good on meats and vegetables, but also great over eggs, mixed into yogurt, or even on top of vanilla ice cream. The only trouble with chili crisp is the cost. A jar of the stuff often sells for as much as $15! Fortunately, with a quick trip to your local Asian grocer you can pick up all the ingredients you need to put together a year’s supply, all while spending less than you would on a jar of the name brand stuff.

Chili Crisp

Ingredients:
¼ cup dried Chinese chilies, seeded and pulverized
¼ cup dried minced onion
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tsp sichuan pepper, coarsely ground
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Chop the dried chilies coarsely and discard the seeds. In a food processor, blend until well pulverized. Add to a heatsafe bowl. Add the dried minced onion, ground sichuan pepper, and sesame seeds to the bowl as well.

On the stove, heat the vegetable oil to 370-380 degrees, then pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Stir this up as it bubbles.

Stir in the sugar and salt, and stir until they dissolve.

Allow to cool on the counter, and then put into a jar for storage. Will keep a long time unrefrigerated.

Enjoy with just about anything, from meats and vegetables to yogurt or even vanilla ice cream.