Chinese Crispy Chili Oil Recipe (Chili Crunch)

If you’re a fan of bold flavors and crave that addictive mix of heat, aroma, and crunch, this homemade Crispy Chili Oil is for you. Often called Chili Crunch, this fiery condiment is loaded with crispy chili flakes, fragrant spices, and nutty sesame seeds, all brought together in hot oil for a deeply satisfying bite.

Whether you’re drizzling it over noodles, dumplings, rice bowls, or even fried eggs, this chili oil adds serious flavor and texture to everything it touches. If you love spicy food, this is a recipe you absolutely have to try — customizable, shelf-stable, and better than anything from a jar.

Chinese Crispy Chili Oil Recipe 

Serves: 3 (8oz) bottles
Prep time: 15 minutes
Rest time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 cup dried red chili peppers, (xiao mi jiao), or replace with other dried chili peppers
1 cup toasted dried lantern chili peppers, or replace with other dried chili peppers
4 tablespoons rice wine, separated
¼ cup paprika powder
4 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon red Sichuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon green Sichuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 stick cinnamon
1 pod star anise
1 slice Chinese licorice root (gan cao)
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
1/4 dried tangerine peel
3 slices ginger
6 garlic cloves
1 ½ cups extra light olive oil
2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar

Chinese Crispy Chili Oil Instructions

1. Prepare the crispy chili oil:

• In a pan over low heat, place in the dried red chili peppers. Stir-fry until aromatic, 3 minutes.
• In a grinder, add the dried red chili peppers. Roughly grind into small pieces. Place them in a bowl.
• In the grinder, add the toasted dried lantern chili peppers. Roughly grind into small pieces, and place in the same bowl as above. Add about 2 tablespoons of rice wine inside. (This will prevent the chili peppers from getting burnt. If you can’t consume alcohol, you could replace it with room temperature cooking oil.) Whisk.
• In a bowl, combine the paprika, toasted sesame seeds, and salt. Add about 1 tablespoon of rice wine inside. (Again, this will prevent them from getting burnt. you could replace it with room temperature cooking oil.) Mix well and set aside.
• In another bowl, place the red Sichuan peppercorns. Place the green Sichuan peppercorns.  Pour in the rice wine and whisk. (This prevents the peppercorns from getting burned. You could also replace it with room temperature cooking oil.) Also add the cinnamon, star anise, Chinese licorice root, cloves, bay leaves, dried tangerine peel, ginger, and garlic. (If you can’t find any spices, you can simply omit them, or substitute them with others that you enjoy.)

2. Cook the crispy chili oil:

• In a wok over low heat, pour in the extra light olive oil. Heat it up for about 2 minutes until the oil temperature is at around 180 degrees F or 82 degrees C. (You could also replace it with other types of cooking oil that you enjoy.)
• Transfer all the spices and herbs — red Sichuan peppercorns, green Sichuan peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, Chinese licorice root, cloves, bay leaves, dried tangerine peel, ginger, and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it soak for 30 minutes. Remove all the spices and herbs.
• Over low heat, heat up the oil for about 2 minutes. Transfer the chili peppers that we ground into the oil. Cook until crispy, about 5 minutes. Try to maintain the oil temperature around 250 degrees F or 121 degrees C. Then add paprika, toasted sesame seeds, and salt. Whisk and turn off the heat. Cool down the oil with the Chinkiang vinegar. (You could also replace it with other types of vinegar that you enjoy.)

3. Store the crispy chili oil:

• Store the chili crisp in sterilized containers and chill in the fridge for up to 2 months.