Chili Crisp
If you don’t have chili crisp in your fridge, like what are you even doing with your life?
Bracingly spicy, drowning in umami goodness, and just salty-sweet enough to balance it all out, chili crisp was introduced to me by a friend a few years ago. You can find it in Asian markets and, if you’re not lucky enough to have H-Mart and Chinatown ten minutes away, the interwebs.
Or you can make it yourself! It is one of my favorite weekend projects. Not too time-consuming that you feel like you wasted valuable nap time on your feet in the kitchen, but also just involved enough to give you some quality zen time in the kitchen (but, like, don’t zen out when slicing the veggies unless you want to go all Buster Bluth).
You can find countless iterations of this recipe online, and I mashed up a few of the simpler versions and I think think it tastes just as nuanced and complex as the fussier recipes. It also keeps in the fridge for a month or so.
I’m all for pretending I am a culinary queen and powering through intricate cheffy recipes, but I also don’t want to overcomplicate a relatively easy recipe that looks and tastes far more complicated than it really is.
I personally do not like star anise or ginger, which you will find in several other versions of this. I have a bit of star anise in my recipe (and even still it is TOO MUCH for my delicate tastebuds), but I nixed the ginger because it tastes like soap to me. Feel free to add a bit to the red pepper mixture before topping with the hot oil if you love it.
When slicing the shallot and garlic for the crisp, I use my mandoline. It makes quick work of the task, but using a very sharp knife works fine; it will just take a bit longer.
The frizzled shallot and garlic go from delectable to disastrous in the blink of an eye, so I like to start the heat a bit lower for a set amount of time before turning it up and stirring almost constantly until they are about two shades lighter than your desired crispness. They’ll continue cooking in the hot oil, so be sure to account for a few minutes of carryover cooking.
I personally love this over a bowl of steamed broccoli and crispy pan-fried leftover rice topped with a runny egg and sesame seeds. It’s also weirdly, ridiculously good drizzled inside a grilled cheese sandwich. Or tangled into spaghetti with shrimp and spinach. Or spooned over pork and shrimp dumplings (recipe coming soon!).
What I’m saying is it’s friggin’ delicious and you should make it.
Chili Crisp
Prep time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes
4 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 heads of garlic, broken into cloves, peeled, and thinly sliced
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise pod
scant 1/4 cup of red pepper flakes (or replace half with aleppo pepper for less intense heat)
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon Trader Joe’s mushroom umami powder
2 teaspoon brown sugar
3-4 dashes fish sauce
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, heat shallots, garlic, cinnamon stick, star anise pod, and oil until bubbly and boiling. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Keep the heat lower and the oil at a solid simmer here; the garlic and shallot will remain soft and just lightly golden in spots during this time.
In the meantime, add red pepper flakes, soy sauce, umami powder, brown sugar, and fish sauce to a medium sized heat-safe bowl, stirring to combine. Place a fine mesh sieve over the bowl.
After 20 minutes, turn the heat to medium high, bringing the oil to a boil, and stir frequently until the shallot and garlic turn golden brown. Remove from heat and stir until the shallot and garlic turn deep golden brown. Drain immediately in the sieve placed over the spice mix; shake to remove excess oil into the bowl.
Let the fried mixture sit in the sieve until completely cool for maximum crispness. Stir into oil mixture, folding delicately to combine.
Store in an airtight glass jar for up to one month.