Homemade chili crisp from a jar of crushed red pepper
Chili crisp is what happens when hot oil meets crushed chilies and aromatics, and the jarred cult brands are made from ingredients you already have. This version takes twenty minutes, keeps for a month, and turns eggs, noodles, dumplings, and vanilla ice cream (trust us) into events.
Ingredients
Half a cup of crushed red pepper, one and a half cups of neutral oil, six cloves of garlic sliced thin, two shallots sliced into rings, two tablespoons of soy sauce, one tablespoon of sugar, one teaspoon of salt, and one cassia cinnamon stick plus two bay leaves for the infusion. A tablespoon of Cajun blend is an excellent unorthodox addition if you like a garlicky, paprika-forward crisp.
Method
Put the crushed red pepper, soy sauce, sugar, and salt in a heatproof bowl that leaves room for bubbling. Warm the oil with the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, shallots, and garlic over medium heat until the shallots go deep gold, about twelve minutes; the aromatics are your thermometer. Fish out the stick and leaves, then pour the hot oil and crispy bits over the chili mixture. It will roar and foam; that is the toast happening. Stir, cool completely, and jar it.
Storage and uses
Refrigerated in a clean jar, it keeps a month; the oil solidifies slightly and reliquifies at room temperature. Spoon it over fried eggs, folded into noodles with the pasta water, on dumplings, over roasted vegetables, and yes, on vanilla ice cream, where the sugar and heat behave like a spicy caramel.
