Homemade Chili Oil

Make this Homemade Chili Oil in less than 20 minutes. It is very easy to make and gives extra flavour to your food.

Chili Oil Sauce sure gives the spice of life to a lot of dishes. Not only does it provides that spicy flavour, but it also adds extra excitement to the dish. The best part is you only need a few ingredients. I am always adding Chili Oil to my food, especially soups, fried rice, stir-fries and noodle dishes. It works well with mostly everything, particularly if you like spicy food.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS RECIPE

• very versatile.

• make this recipe in less than 20 minutes.

• needs few ingredients.

• perfect to use in soup, noodles, stir-fries and fried rice.

• budget friendly.

• can last up to 3 months or more!

INGREDIENTS NEEDED FOR HOMEMADE CHILI OIL

INGREDIENT NOTES

• Oil: I used Canola Oil for this recipe. Vegetable and Grapeseed Oil will also work just fine.

• Chili Flakes: Dried chili or fresh chili is totally fine. I used dried chili and blended them using the blender, but you can also use a food processor. However, you can also cut them to small pieces using scissors but make sure to use gloves as it will stick to your hand. Or you can just buy the chili flakes packs on grocery store. I bought mine at an Asian grocery store.

• 5 Spice: 5 Spice powder is made of 5 ingredients like bay leaves, cinnamon, fennel, star anise and cloves. This gives the warmth and complexity of the sauce. You can also just use the 5 spice powder alone if you don't have bay leaves, cinnamon, star anise, fennel and cloves. Most Asian grocery stores have 5 spice powder.

• Star Anise: the flavour of star anise is sweet and licorice like. It provides the aromatic smell of the sauce. You can skip this if you have the 5 spice powder as it is one of the key ingredients.

• Bay Leaves: Dried bay leaves can be bought at any grocery store.

• Fennel: they usually taste like star anise. I just love the bright taste and sure gives extra kick for the sauce. You can also skip this if you have the 5 Spice powder.

• Sugar: Brown sugar or white sugar works just fine. This is where the sweetness comes from.

• Ginger: the flavour of ginger is slightly peppery and sweet. Remember, don't burn the ginger to avoid bitter taste.

• Garlic: never skip the garlic.

• Salt: needed to bring out all the flavours from the sauce.

• Chili Paste: for extra flavour, I added 1 tablespoon of chili paste to our homemade chili oil. Skip this ingredient if you don't have any.

STEP- BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Toss star anise, bay leaves and fennel into over medium heat pan. Mix them together and roast for two minutes or until the smell comes out.

2. Add canola oil, ginger and garlic. Bring it to boil for 15 minutes or 20 minutes. Don't burn the ginger and garlic to avoid bitter taste.

3. Finely chopped red chillies together using food processor or blender. Transfer finely chopped chillies into the bowl, add 5 spice powder, sugar, chili paste and salt to taste. Make sure to use thick bowl because the oil could be very very hot.

4. After 20 minutes you can now pour the oil over the chillies and be careful when doing this step. Use the strainer and don't burn yourself. And voila! You have your homemade Chili Oil.

Did you make this Homemade Chili Oil today? I'd love to hear from you in the comment section below. And let's get social! Follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

Recipe