My family is full of spice lovers. Anything you put in front of them always needs an extra dash of spice. This is my sassy response for them. It has EVERY pepper you can imagine but its super flavorful at the same time. For a super spicy addition I add dried ghost pepper flakes from the Sonoran Spice Company, these are completely optional but if you’ve got spice lovers, it is definitely worth it! My dad packs a little container of this chili oil every time we go out to a restaurants to add a little flavor to his meal. This is good on pretty much anything, you can dip some focaccia in it or drizzle it on a huge bowl of drunken noodles.
The flavor is super versatile, and because there are so many fresh aspects you get more than just direct spice from the oil. Due to the fresh aspects, especially garlic, you must store this oil in the fridge. Additionally for food safety purposes throw out this oil after 4-10 days of refrigeration. This is to prevent any botulism scares! I make this in small batches and it goes so fast. The oil becomes sort of like a jelly in the fridge and I love to mix it in savory baking or warm it and baste in on my dish. This chili oil is not like the traditional Sichuan chili oil you’ll find in restaurants, therefore you wont get the same numbing effect when consuming it, but you can definitely add them in if thats what you’re looking for!
I started with an optional step of gently toasting my dried spices. If you do it I would highly recommend doing this outside our in a very well ventilated area. You don’t want a ton of color because the hot oil will do that in a later step. You just want to “revive” it a bit to get the fragrance going. Place all of the chili flakes and dried, ground spices in a large heat safe bowl. Add grated ginger, salt, and sugar. Keep aside.
Finely chop all of your fresh ingredients (except ginger) habaneros, serranos, thai chilies, and shallots. Slice the garlic into thin slices, almost like chips. In a saucepan, heat up the oil and include all of your prepped ingredients and the cinnamon stick. You want this to be a gentle simmer, not a roaring boil. Just get that baby going on a nice bubble for 45 minutes to an hour. Pull it off the heat once the garlic starts browning.
Put a strainer on top of the large, heat safe bowl you put all of the dried spices in. Strain the hot oil, enjoy that satisfying sizzle. Take the strained solids and spread it out on a paper towel lined baking sheet. This will crisp up the solids and add a great texture to your oil. Let the oil cool on your countertop for a few hours, until its cooled to room temperature.
Once the oil has cooled down pour it into a food safe glass container and add your crisped solids back in. Keep it in the fridge and enjoy whenever you want to add a flavor kick to a meal!
Shallot Garlic Chili Oil
Ingredients
- 2 cups oil
- 3-4 Thai chilies sliced in half moons
- 2 serranos sliced in half moons
- 3 habaneros finely diced
- 3 shallots finely diced
- 2 bulbs garlic sliced thinly
- 1 inch ginger grated
- 1/2 cup red chili flake toasted
- 2 tbsp. ghost pepper flakes optional
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tbsp. Kashmiri lal mirch
- 2 tsp. Ground cumin
- 2 tsp. Granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Ground coriander
Instructions
- Optional: Toast the chili flakes, coriander seeds, cumin, and cinnamon stick.
- Set the cinnamon stick aside and mix the toasted spices in a large heat safe bowl with ginger paste, salt, and sugar.
- Heat the oil with the garlic, fresh chilies, reserved cinnamon stick, shallot, and all remaining ingredients. Heat for 45 minutes to an hour until you get a nice toasted color.
- Strain the hot oil into the chili mixture. Take the strained solids and spread it on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Let the chilies and garlic crisp up while the oil cools.
- Place the crisp in the bottom of a food safe jar. Pour the cooled chili oil over it to fill the remainder of the container.
