Spicy Chili Crisp

[CosmicMiami]

Somebody brought a jardi of Spicy Chili Crisp to work last week. It was from an Asian market. I enjoyed the flavor as a condiment so decided to make my own. After searching here for a recipe, I found a couple online. There are various recipes but they all seem to boil down to a few ingredients. One I found called for a bit of mushroom paste. My local grocer doesn't carry Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base so I didn't add it. I also omitted the MSG as I couldn't find it. My problem with BTB bases is they are salty. Will try making my own mushroom paste.

This is the recipe I used and it came out great. Could be better with some tweaking but that's how it goes right?

This can be used on pretty much anything you want.

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups vegetable oil or use peanut oil
• 2 serrano peppers rough chopped
• 1 shallot rough chopped
• 10 cloves garlic rough chopped
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns or use Sichuan peppercorns
• ¼ cup red chili flakes
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika or use a Gochugaru seasoning blend, or cayenne for more heat
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce adds umami
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon msg optional - use sea salt as an alternative
• OPTIONAL ADDITIONS for extra flavor
• 1 3- inch cinnamon stick
• 4 star anise pods

Instructions

• Add the oil to a small pot along with the serrano peppers, shallot, garlic, peppercorns. Add the cinnamon stick and star anise pods, if using.
• Heat the oil to medium-low and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until the ingredients in the pot brown. It could take longer for the bits to brown and crisp depending on the size of your chopped peppers and oil temperature.
• Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. The flavors will infuse the oil even further.
• In a separate heat-proof bowl, mix together the chili flakes, paprika (or Gochugaru), soy sauce, sugar and msg.
• Strain the oil into the chili flake mixture. Reserve the crispy serrano-shallot-garlic bits in the strainer and set them aside for now to cool, which will allow them to fully crisp up.
• Pick out the cinnamon stick and star anise pods (if using), then swirl the crispy bits back into the oil.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight to let the flavors develop even more. Stir before serving.

[rickgregory]

MMMM Lao Gan Ma is addictive. If you like it really spicy, try this. https://www.seriouseats.com/homemade-spicy-chili-crisp (and watch the video at the end)

[fzxdoc]

So this makes about 2 cups of crispy oil condiment? What do you put it on? It sounds delicious, especially if eaten immediately.

I would guess that there might be a concern about botulism as the condiment sticks around for a few days/week(s). When it comes to submerging food or herby bits in oil, I often think of Meathead's article which addresses, in part, the making of flavored oils at home. Here's what he says about that:

Some herbs and spices can be packed in oil to extract their flavors, but this is too risky to do at home. The process easily produces Clostridium botulinum which can kill you of botulism.

Here's another article where Meathead talks about the same thing:

Flavored oils

Many specialty stores sell flavored oils such as tarragon oil or garlic oil. They can be very tasty, but I prefer to simply add my own tarragon or garlic to the oil when I need it rather than inventory yet another condiment. But a word of caution: Fresh herbs and garlic are exposed to the botulism microbe that lives in soil. It loves anaerobic environments, that is, it loves to grow in a jar of oil without air. And it is hard to kill but it can kill you. So it is not a good idea to keep bottles of homemade garlic oil around. If you need it, make it fresh. And if the Italian restaurant you’re in sets a bottle on the table, ask for just plain oil. A good olive oil doesn’t need garlic and you don’t need botulism.

Just FWIW. According to this article from North Carolina State, heating the oil and increasing the acidity can decrease the risk of botulism. If not acidifying the ingredients, they recommend refrigeration and throwing the product away within 4 days. (or freezing the oil mixture until use).

Kathryn

[rickgregory]

So this makes about 2 cups of crispy oil condiment? What do you put it on? It sounds delicious, especially if eaten immediately.

I would guess that there might be a concern about botulism as the condiment sticks around for a few days/week(s). When it comes to submerging food or herby bits in oil, I often think of Meathead's article which addresses, in part, the making of flavored oils at home. Here's what he says about that:

Some herbs and spices can be packed in oil to extract their flavors, but this is too risky to do at home. The process easily produces Clostridium botulinum which can kill you of botulism.

Here's another article where Meathead talks about the same thing:

Flavored oils

Many specialty stores sell flavored oils such as tarragon oil or garlic oil. They can be very tasty, but I prefer to simply add my own tarragon or garlic to the oil when I need it rather than inventory yet another condiment. But a word of caution: Fresh herbs and garlic are exposed to the botulism microbe that lives in soil. It loves anaerobic environments, that is, it loves to grow in a jar of oil without air. And it is hard to kill but it can kill you. So it is not a good idea to keep bottles of homemade garlic oil around. If you need it, make it fresh. And if the Italian restaurant you’re in sets a bottle on the table, ask for just plain oil. A good olive oil doesn’t need garlic and you don’t need botulism.

Just FWIW. According to this article from North Carolina State, heating the oil and increasing the acidity can decrease the risk of botulism. If not acidifying the ingredients, they recommend refrigeration and throwing the product away within 4 days. (or freezing the oil mixture until use).

Kathryn

I can't speak to the recipe from cosmicmiami but the other one is cooked - I don't worry about it. NOTE: The SE recipe is VERY HOT. If you want something that's definitely spicy but less extreme you can use different spicy chilis or simply buy some Lao Gan Ma, the original.

NOTE: That price is silly. If you have a good Asian market or a supermarket with a good asian section, you should be able to find it for $3-4 for that size.

PS: While I understand all the food safety concerns, botulism poisoning is VERY rare. Everyone should do what they feel is right and I'm not advocating ignoring safety, but I do think it's possible to over focus on risk. My late aunt from Nebraska always drastically overcooked the great salmon we get here... 'just in case'.

[CosmicMiami]

MMMM Lao Gan Ma is addictive. If you like it really spicy, try this. https://www.seriouseats.com/homemade-spicy-chili-crisp (and watch the video at the end)

This is the recipe I used. I have also seen calling for mushroom paste as I mentioned above.

Yes. Seriously addictive. Put it on anything you deem appropriate. I used serranos instead of jalapenos. Another recipe I saw called for scotch bonnets. You can adjust the heat to your preference.

[CosmicMiami]

So this makes about 2 cups of crispy oil condiment? What do you put it on? It sounds delicious, especially if eaten immediately.

I would guess that there might be a concern about botulism as the condiment sticks around for a few days/week(s). When it comes to submerging food or herby bits in oil, I often think of Meathead's article which addresses, in part, the making of flavored oils at home. Here's what he says about that:

Some herbs and spices can be packed in oil to extract their flavors, but this is too risky to do at home. The process easily produces Clostridium botulinum which can kill you of botulism.

Here's another article where Meathead talks about the same thing:

Flavored oils

Many specialty stores sell flavored oils such as tarragon oil or garlic oil. They can be very tasty, but I prefer to simply add my own tarragon or garlic to the oil when I need it rather than inventory yet another condiment. But a word of caution: Fresh herbs and garlic are exposed to the botulism microbe that lives in soil. It loves anaerobic environments, that is, it loves to grow in a jar of oil without air. And it is hard to kill but it can kill you. So it is not a good idea to keep bottles of homemade garlic oil around. If you need it, make it fresh. And if the Italian restaurant you’re in sets a bottle on the table, ask for just plain oil. A good olive oil doesn’t need garlic and you don’t need botulism.

Just FWIW. According to this article from North Carolina State, heating the oil and increasing the acidity can decrease the risk of botulism. If not acidifying the ingredients, they recommend refrigeration and throwing the product away within 4 days. (or freezing the oil mixture until use).

Kathryn

The recipe calls for cooking the rough chopped ingredients in the oil. You want them crispy but not overly so. Look at the instructions for the recipe. You then strain the oil and mix in the other dry ingredients. Finally, add back the crispy bits. Jar it and put in the fridge. This IS NOT a cold infused oil. The crispy bits will sink of course so before using give it a good shake or stir.

You can put it on anything your heart desires. That's the beauty of it. See my comment below. I have put it on pork, beef, chicken, eggs.

[rickgregory]

Here's the video from the above link: