Making Hongyou #2: Crispy Shallot Chili Oil
Published Mar 01, 2015, Updated May 01, 2024
The Fast Track to Chili Crisp
My pursuit of the perfect chili oil leads me to the conclusion that there is not just one. I like a pure, chili-flavored chili oil for most cooking, but after consuming so much Laoganma Spicy Chili Crisp and similarly fancy artisan chili oils I bought from a street vendor in Sichuan, I’ve decided I need to up my game with homemade chili oils. So here I give you Crispy Shallot Chili Oil. It packs a ton of flavor, but still not so much that it can’t be used widely and heavily on foods both Asian and Western.
It’s in the style of Spicy Chili Crisp, but without the secret ingredients, the MSG or the preservatives. Plus, it has a greater oil-to-solids ratio so that it can be used when chili oil is called for. The key is the sweet crispy shallots married with mala flavor—chili flakes and Sichuan pepper.
Here’s what to gather for this recipe:
- Sichuan chili flakes. Sichuan makes their chili flakes by frying whole chilies in vegetable oil before grinding them into the perfect mix of flakes, powder and seeds. The frying makes for a distinctive flavor, color and texture that other chili flakes just don’t have.
- Peanut oil, preferably made in China or Taiwan, as theirs have more flavor than American peanut oil.
- Sichuan peppercorns, dry toasted in a pan until fragrant. Grind to a coarse powder in a spice or coffee grinder and sift out most of the yellow-husk bits that don’t break down.
While this is the quickest, easiest way to make chili crisp, Kathy shares a chili oil and an aromatic chili oil made the way Sichuan chefs—and her Sichuan family—make it.
Making Hongyou #2: Crispy Shallot Chili Oil
Ingredients
- 2 cups peanut oil or canola oil (or mix of peanut oil and canola oil)
- ½ cup Sichuan chili flakes (toasted and ground chilies with flakes and powder)
- ⅓ cup finely diced shallot
- 1 tablespoon freshly ground Sichuan pepper see note
- ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- ¼ cup sesame oil
Instructions
- Put Sichuan chili flakes, Sichuan pepper and salt in a heat-proof glass pint jar with a tight-fitting lid.
- Heat oil in a small sauce pan on a medium-low flame until a test bit of shallot sizzles when it hits the oil. Add all shallots to the oil and fry slowly until they are golden brown, which should take several minutes. Watch closely, and do not burn them.
- When flakes are nicely golden, immediately pour them and their oil into the jar on top of the chili flakes. (If your pan does not have a pour spout, transfer first to a glass measuring cup that does.) The oil should be at the correct temperature to lightly toast the chili flakes, which should sizzle a bit when the oil hits them. Let calm, then stir the oil to mix the ingredients. Leave to cool, then add sesame oil and mix well. Cool completely before capping with lid. Flavors are best after they have had a couple days to infuse.
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Shop The Mala Market
Fragrant-Hot Ground Chilies (Sichuan Chili Flakes, Xiang La La Jiao Mian)Buy on Mala Market
Da Hong Pao Sichuan Pepper (Hua Jiao)Buy on Mala Market
Roasted Rapeseed Oil (Caiziyou)Buy on Mala Market
Cuizi Small-Mill Roasted Sesame Oil (Cold-Pressed)Buy on Mala Market
DIY Mala Chili Crisp and Chili Oil KitBuy on Mala Market
Chengdu Crispy Chili Oil (All Natural, Made in Sichuan)Buy on Mala Market
I made your “Hong You #2” oil this afternoon and the house smells really fantastic. I also love the taste–although I realize the flavour is likely to get even better with a little more time.
I should also say that have been enjoying your blog a great deal. Great recipes and great stories. I really hope you are teaching your daughter how to cook all this wonderful food!
Hi Ian,
So glad the chili oil worked for you and truly appreciate your taking the time to let me know. And thanks for the encouragement! My daughter is much more interested in eating than cooking, but I’m working on her. 🙂
Hi Taylor,
Thank you so much for sharing with us your great knowledge of Sichuan cuisine! I myself thought I was a Sichuan food specialist but nothing compared to you! I went to Chengdu last year by myself just to eat Sichuan three time a day for several days. I too brought red, green and lighter green hoa jao, red chili and Pixiandouban. And I may go back there in December before going home to Tokyo for the holiday season. I love Sichuan MaLa!
I made the hong you #2 and I really like it. I bought the two Lao Gang Ma products too!
I can’t thank you enough for your wonderful blog website!
Thank you so much, Norry! I always love to hear from a fellow mala lover. I hope the site inspires you to cook Sichuan when you can’t be there. That’s what I do!
Hi, Taylor,
I enjoy reading your blog and the tests you made before sharing. I made one batch of the Crispy Shallot Chili Oil and it is really good. Thank you for sharing.
Hi, Taylor,
Do I need to refrigerate the chili oil? If not, how long will they last in the pantry? I am thinking making some for family members but in case they don’t use it up as quickly as I do, I want to make sure I know how to store the oil properly. Thank you.
Hi Jenny,
I’m glad you like the shallot chili oil. I don’t think there’s any need to refrigerate it. I’ve kept it for several months, and it’s still good. Thanks for your comments!
Thank you Taylor for your response. I made several jars to share with family. They all love the flavor. Thank you for sharing.
That’s awesome. I should do the same!
Hi Taylor, I’m looking to replicate chilli oil like my beloved Lee Kum Kee-brand Chow Chiu Chilli oil, but without the horrible preservatives, msg and excessive saltiness and your recipe looks flavourful and delicious! My question for you is, will the korean red pepper flakes give a similar heat level to the szechuan chilli flakes? The korean red pepper powder I have is quite mild, and I love me some spicy!
I’ll have to try that one! The Korean flakes I’ve bought have been fairly hot, and I’ve found Sichuan and Korean flakes to be of a similar heat level. They are not super hot, but concentrated in a chili oil they make a pretty hot one. However, if you want crazy hot, you might try the Thai chili flakes, though most Chinese chili oils wouldn’t be that hot. Good luck!
What an amazing website!! A site like this fulfills the educational and cultural promises of the internet age.
Thank you!!
Well thank you very much! That’s a much appreciated endorsement of my efforts.
Hello,
I’m allergic to peanut is there any other oil I can substitute for it. thanks
Yes, you can use canola oil. Vegetable oil would probably be fine too. Hope you enjoy it.
I just made this and it smells fantastic. Your first Hong You recipe worked very well for me so I expect this will too.
What do you like this shallot version on best (or what flavors does it compliment best, in your opinion)?
Good question! I use these two chili oils pretty much interchangeably, depending on which one I have at hand. I think the shallot version is particularly good in noodle sauces, including the shallot bits. You might not want to use it in things that call for a pure chili taste or look. The original version has a toastier taste, because the oil gets hotter and toasts the chilies more. The shallot version has a sweeter, more shallot taste, of course. 🙂 Thanks for writing!
Hi Taylor. Can you show me a pic of the Korean pepper package to help me find it at K&S? Thanks. R.B. Quinn rbq750@gmail.com
Hi R.B.! Check out the recipe for the basic chili oil: https://blog.themalamarket.com/making-hong-you-chili-oil/
It has a photo of the one I used. Just make sure it’s bright red and that you get thick or coarse flakes, and not powder, and you should be good to go with any brand.
I love this recipe! I found that the chilli I had was not too hot/spicy, so I added some regular chill flakes and that was perfect! I love the shallots and the szechuan peppercorns! So aromatic! I go to dumpling restaurants, and I have to say this chilli oil recipe was better than the restaurants especially when I added the extra hot chili flakes! I want to share my oil with my family, but I want to eat it all by myself! I gave it to my sis and bro-in- law – and they loved it! My sis (like me) ate it for lunch and dinner everyday adding it stir fries, steamed veggies, indian dhal curry (basically almost everything she ate!) Thank you for the recipe and would highly recommend adding extra hot chili flakes to the mix. I also decreased the oil amount as it is the flakes and shallots I am after. The balance was perfect!
Thank you for the feedback, Anu! So happy to hear you’ve made the recipe your own.