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

  1. 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!

  2. In a medium saucepan, heat the sunflower seed oil over medium heat

  3. Add the chopped garlic and shallots to the hot oil. Cook until they start to turn golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes

  4. Stir in the chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until they soften

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. Once the aromatics have cooled and crisped up, mix them back into the spiced oil mixture

  8. 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


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Funky Chicken