Chili Oil
Hot avocado oil poured over red pepper flakes and sesame seeds until it sizzles and turns brick red, seasoned with garlic powder so it keeps for a month.
Why you'll love Chili Oil
This is the chili oil from the Asian Cucumber Salad with Sesame and Chili Oil, made in a jar-size batch. Store-bought chili crisps usually carry sugar and seed oils, and this one is avocado oil poured hot over red pepper flakes and sesame seeds. It sizzles, blooms, and turns brick red, and the mild avocado oil lets the chiles lead.
The salad's small batch uses a clove of fresh garlic. For a jar that keeps, this version uses garlic powder instead. Fresh garlic covered in oil has to be refrigerated and eaten within 4 days, while dried garlic and dried pepper flakes leave nothing fresh and moist under the oil, so the jar keeps for a month in the refrigerator. The garlic powder goes in after the bubbling dies down, so it toasts gently instead of scorching.
A spoonful brings heat and sesame crunch to eggs, soups, roasted vegetables, grilled meat, and cold cucumbers.
Quick overview: This Chili Oil takes 5 min of hands-on time and about 40 min in all and makes 16 servings, each 1 tablespoon. You'll need a saucepan.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 3/4 cup avocado oil
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder Label: garlic, and nothing else
Instructions
- Set up the bowl: Put the red pepper flakes and sesame seeds in a heatproof glass or ceramic bowl that holds at least twice the volume of the oil, since the oil foams up when it hits the flakes.
- Heat the oil: Heat the avocado oil in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, until it shimmers and a pinch of pepper flakes dropped in sizzles on contact. If the oil smokes, take it off the heat and let it cool for a minute, because smoking oil scorches the flakes and turns them bitter.
- Pour: Pour the hot oil slowly over the flakes and sesame. It bubbles hard, then settles as the flakes bloom and the oil turns red.
- Add the garlic powder: Once the bubbling slows, after about a minute, stir in the garlic powder. The slightly cooler oil toasts it gently and keeps it from turning bitter.
- Cool uncovered: Let the oil cool completely, uncovered, about 30 minutes. Covering it while hot traps steam, and drops of water in the oil shorten how long it keeps.
- Jar it: Scrape the oil and all the flakes into a clean, completely dry jar, seal it, and refrigerate it. For the cucumber salad, spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons over the top, stirring from the bottom of the jar first, since the flakes and seeds settle.
Storage and leftovers
Keep this chili oil in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month, and use a clean, dry spoon each time. Avocado oil turns cloudy and thick when cold, so let the jar sit out for 10 to 15 minutes before using.
If you make it with fresh garlic or shallot, as the cucumber salad does, keep it in the refrigerator and use it within 4 days. Fresh garlic and shallot are low-acid and moist, and covered in oil they sit away from air, the conditions in which botulism bacteria can grow. Cold slows them for those few days, and the dried version avoids the question entirely.
Variations
- Fresh garlic, for the salad as written: Make the small batch from the cucumber salad: 3 tablespoons avocado oil poured over 1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, and 1 minced clove of garlic. Refrigerate it and use it within 4 days.
- Star anise: Warm 2 whole star anise in the oil as it heats, then lift them out before pouring, for a warm, licorice-scented oil to spoon over the pork belly soup.
- Aleppo: Use Aleppo pepper in place of half the red pepper flakes for a fruitier, gentler oil.
- Five-spice: Stir 1/2 teaspoon five-spice powder into the oil with the garlic powder.
Notes and tips
- Watch the oil: The flakes should sizzle and bloom, and the oil should never smoke. If in doubt, let it cool a minute before pouring.
- Use a dry jar: Water is what shortens the life of an oil, so the jar and the spoon both need to be completely dry.
- Stir before spooning: The flakes and sesame sink to the bottom. Stir from the bottom up so each spoonful has crunch.
- Choose flakes by smell: Red pepper flakes lose their heat and color with age. Bright red, fragrant flakes make a brighter oil.
Nutrition and mindful eating
- Avocado oil is mostly monounsaturated fat, and its mild taste lets the chiles and sesame lead.
- Capsaicin, the compound that makes chiles hot, dissolves in oil, which is why the heat spreads through the whole jar and coats each bite.
- Sesame seeds add crunch and a little more fat, and blooming them in hot oil turns them toasty.
- As you eat, notice the slow build of heat from a spoonful of chili oil, and pay attention to how that heat makes you take smaller bites and eat more slowly.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this Chili Oil? Start here, with the questions people ask most.
Why garlic powder instead of fresh garlic?
Fresh garlic in oil has to be refrigerated and eaten within 4 days, because garlic is a low-acid, moist food and the oil shuts out air, which are the conditions botulism bacteria need. Garlic powder is dry, so the jar keeps for a month in the refrigerator.
Is the chili oil very hot?
It is medium. Use 4 teaspoons of pepper flakes for a milder oil, or spoon less over the food.
Can I use olive oil?
Avocado oil is used here for its mild taste. Extra-virgin olive oil brings its own peppery, grassy flavor and smokes at a lower heat, so warm it gently if you use it.
Why does it turn cloudy in the refrigerator?
Avocado oil thickens and clouds when it is cold. Let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes and it turns clear and pourable again.
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