Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil is just what you need to spice up your life and your Asian recipes.
Top Asian Condiment
If you enjoy enhancing your stir fry dishes with garlic chili sauce, consider adding a touch of crispy hot chili oil to your dumplings, noodles, or even your breakfast eggs. This delightful combination offers a fragrant and fiery kick, and it can be prepared in just 10 minutes.
This recipe has the perfect balance of Chinese red chili heat with tongue numbing Sichuan (or sometimes referred to as Szechuan) chili peppers and aromatic garlic. Hand down this garlic chili oil tastes even better than the condiments in the restaurants.
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Ways to Use it
We love drizzling Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil on eggs, stir fries, noodles, dumplings and rice dishes. If you have not tried this spicy oil drizzled over our Daikon Bacon Radish Cake, you have no idea what you have been missing out on.
It is about to get hot and spicy here at Healthy World Cuisine (HWC) Magazine. Our family loves heat and they slather Chili Oil on everything.
Traditional Chinese Medicine
Chili, Sichuan peppers and garlic are both warm and heaty foods and are yang dominated according to Traditional Chinese Medicine. A balance of yin and yang are important to our health.
Yin and Yang are Two halves that together complete wholeness. Yin and yang are also the starting point for change. Both halves are chasing after each other as they seek a new balance with each other.
Yin and Yang
During the cooler months, a little spice is welcome. You might like to learn more about this concept in our article Introducing the Five Energies of Food.
If you are cold all the time (yin) with cold fingers and toes, a little homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil and a serving of our Hot and Spicy Mandarin Orange Chicken might be just what you need to achieve balance.
On the other hand, if you are heaty in nature and are always warm, have red rashes and a red tongue then you need to minimize heaty foods. You might find our Love Your Liver; Self Care and Meal Plans post helpful.
Flavors of Food
There are also the Five Flavors of Food and they include...
- pungent (acrid)
- sweet
- sour
- bitter
- salty
Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil would be considered a pungent food. Pungent foods helps to promote circulation and increase appetite.
Do you notice how you start to heat up when you eat spicy food and your face may even flush? This is the effect we are talking about. If you are cold all the time (yin), Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil might be just what you need.
Recipe Hints
- This recipe makes 2 cups total but 1 cup of it, is the oil on top. You can eat the oil on top and the chili garlic mixture as well. It’s a sauce.
- As the oil has a chance to mingle with the chili flakes, the color will deepen in red color and flavor.
- It is best to use an oil with a high smoking point for this recipe such as Extra Light Olive oil that has a smoking point of 468 degrees F / or 242 degrees C. Peanut oil has a smoking point of 450 degrees F/ or 232 degrees C. In Asia, Peanut oil would be used but because of all the known and unknown peanut allergies we love using Extra Light Olive oil.
- We treat our vessels to hold the Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil just like you do a canning jar and boil them in water to sterilize and then let the canning jars air dry and use brand new lids. Better safe than sorry!
- How long will it keep? Well technically, in the refrigerator you may keep in for 4 days. Garlic is the reason behind this rule. You must be very careful, especially raw garlic can carry the potential of botulism so we advise 4 days and then pitch. Even cooked garlic we cannot guarantee so we advise 4 days according to food safety boards
- If you want to be able to keep your chili oil for a longer time frame, then just DO NOT add the garlic and you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
- Make sure you get your oil temperature up to at least 275 degrees by a candy thermometer before adding the chili flakes and Sichuan Peppercorns.
- Highly recommended to crack open a window or turn on a vent as chili peppers can be quite the nasal decongestant. Actually might be quite helpful if you have a stuffy nose. Trust me you will be breathing freely after you make this!
- You can add other aromatics to the oil as well such as star anise, ginger or bay leaves.
More Chinese Recipe Ideas
How to Prepare Wood Ear Mushrooms
Spicy Beef and Longevity Noodles
Chinese Long Beans and Minced Pork
More Spicy Recipes
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Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil
Ingredients
- 1 cup oil
High smoke point neutral flavored oil (such as Extra light olive, canola or peanut oil) - ¾ cup Chinese Chili Flakes
- ¼ cup Sichuan Peppercorns
whole - 8 cloves Garlic
minced - ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Over a medium high burner heat your oil in a sauce pan until it registers 275 degrees or you can dip your wooden chopsticks in the pan and if bubbles are forming around the chopsticks you are ready to go.
- Remove the oil from the burner and add your Chinese Chili flakes and Sichuan Peppercorns. Be careful as they will boil up. Stir gently and then add the salt and then the garlic and allow to garlic to gently toast.
- Allow to come to room temperature.
- Boil water and fill your glass containers you are going to store you oil in and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Pour out the water and allow to air dry.
- Once your Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil cools pour into your clean glass jar/jars, cover with lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and then discard.
- Enjoy on all of your favorite dishes when you need a little delicious heat
Notes
- This recipe makes 2 cups total but 1 cup of it is the oil on top. You can eat the oil on top and the chili garlic mixture as well. It’s a sauce.
- As the oil has a chance to mingle with the chili flakes, the color will deepen in red color and flavor.
- It is best to use an oil with a high smoking point for this recipe such as Extra Light Olive oil that has a smoking point of 468 degrees F / or 242 degrees C. Peanut oil has a smoking point of 450 degrees F/ or 232 degrees C. In Asia, Peanut oil would be used but because of all the known and unknown peanut allergies we love using Extra Light Olive oil.
- We treat our vessels to hold the Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil just like you do a canning jar and boil them in water to sterilize and then let the canning jars air dry and use brand new lids. Better safe than sorry!
- How long will it keep? Well technically, in the refrigerator you may keep in for 4 days. Garlic is the reason behind this rule. You must be very careful, especially raw garlic can carry the potential of botulism so we advise 4 days and then pitch. Even cooked garlic we cannot guarantee so we advise 4 days per food safety boards.
- If you want to be able to keep your chili oil for a longer time frame, then just DO NOT add the garlic and you can keep it in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
- Make sure you get your oil temperature up to at least 275 degrees by a candy thermometer before adding the chili flakes and Sichuan Peppercorns.
- Highly recommended to crack open a window or turn on a vent as chili peppers can be quite the nasal decongestant. Actually might be quite helpful if you have a stuffy nose. Trust me you will be breathing freely after you make this!
- You can add other aromatics to the oil as well such as star anise, ginger or bay leaves.
Eha says
Have been reading and rereading some of the now favourite recipes I have garnered from you thru' the years . . . did not think there was a new one for me, but - glory be ! This chilli oil will be made ere the docs finally pronounce my metatarsals healed . . . cannot wait to taste and, at the moment, actually have a need for something with some oomph in it . . . thank you Milady !!! (Yes, that foot is taking its time - cannot wait to throw the fracture-boot out of the window !)
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Eha! Maybe a little pop of spice is just what those little metatarsals need to heal. Sorry it is taking so darn long. We love slathering this chili oil on everything. It does not last too long around here and made a double batch for CNY. Take Care
Kirtika saha says
This garlic chili oil is so delicious and tasty. They are really nice article. Thanks for sharing nice information.
shankar das says
This is amazing to mix in any dinner and abruptly the food goes to another level!
HWC Magazine says
Thank you Shankar. Homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili Oil is just what you need to bring a recipe to the next level. Agree! Stay well and take care
Tina says
This garlic chili oil is so delicious on noodles and my husband loves it on his morning eggs. I doubt if it’s going to last 4 days but thanks for the heads up on the expiration date of garlic.
HWC Magazine says
Hi there Tina. Our family loves this homemade Sichuan Garlic Chili oil too. It never lasts long in our house either. The boys slather it on everything. Stay well and take care
Katerina says
This is perfect to infuse in any meal and suddenly the food goes to another level!