Chili Crisp
For when you need to spice things up
Prep time: 10 min | Total time: 45 min | Difficulty: 2/5
If there is anything I hate more than mosquitoes and unsolicited advice from strange men, then it would be feeling stagnant. I’ve always despised the routine and sameness of a 9-5 (wondering if I can make rent next month is a lot more thrilling), but have come to realise it doesn’t only apply to my work life — I equally loathe feeling stuck in relationships, silly habits, or taking the same dog walk routes everyday.
While changing a boyfriend every season or infiltrating a new group of friends every week is tempting, I learnt (the hard way, always) that there are healthier ways to bring spice into one’s life. After a lot of trial and error and disappointment in people, I’ve landed on a few: trying a new workout every now and then, rethinking my whole identity from scratch (weekly), and doing weird things in the kitchen.
Like this chili crisp: the combination of ingredients is not obvious but guaranteed to add a decent amount of umami funk to your meals. Nutritional yeast adds a little cheesiness, the aromatics pitch in for the crunch, and the smoked paprika finishes it off with depth. Absolutely do play around with it adjusting to your taste and heat tolerance.
Ingredients
Garlic 8 cloves
Shallots 2 medium
Sun-dried tomatoes 50 g / 1.75 oz
Sunflower seed oil 240 ml / 1 cup
Nutritional yeast 30 g / 1/4 cup
Chili flakes 15 g / 2 tbsp
Dried basil 1 tsp
Dried oregano 1 tsp
Smoked paprika 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
Serving Ideas
Sprinkle it on everything: eggs, pizza, pasta, soup, toast, salad, bagels. It will add that je-ne-sais-quoi umami element to pretty much anything!
Equipment
Cutting board
Knife
Medium saucepan
Wooden spoon
Fine-mesh sieve
Heatproof jar for storage
Method
On a cutting board, finely chop the garlic, shallots, and sun-dried tomatoes — this is the most tedious part of the recipe, but you got it!
In a medium saucepan, heat the sunflower seed oil over medium heat
Add the chopped garlic and shallots to the hot oil. Cook until they start to turn golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes
Stir in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until they soften
Set a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the aromatic mixture through the sieve, letting the oil drain into the bowl. Set the sieve with the aromatics aside to cool and crisp up — this is important if you are after that crunchy texture
In the bowl with the oil, add the chili flakes, dried basil, dried oregano, smoked paprika, salt, black pepper, and nutritional yeast. Stir well to combine
Once the aromatics have cooled and crisped up, mix them back into the spiced oil mixture
Let the chili crisp cool, then transfer it to a jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks
Nutritional Value (per tbsp)
Calories: 148 kcal | Carbs: 4.4 g | Protein: 1.9 g | Fat: 14 g