We have said it about 1000 times already but we absolutely love Asian food. One of our favorite ways to eat dumplings, pot stickers, noodles and just about anything, Asian or not, is to add chili oil. It is a condiment that we immediately request when we sit down to eat. With this in mind, we experimented a bit to create our own chili oil that we could have on hand in the kitchen to spice up our recipes. This recipe is a bit involved in terms of ingredients. You are going to need a lot of spices and to execute this carefully so they do not burn. But don’t be intimidated! We will walk you through this step by step. The best part is, once you make this recipe, you will have enough to hold you over for a while. Maybe….

Homemade Chili Oil
Makes: 1.5 cups of chili oil
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 star anise
• 4 tbs Chinese chili powder (see here)
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 1 tbs cayenne powder
• 1 tbs Chinese 5 spice
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 Thai chilies
• 1 1/2 cups canola oil

Directions:

1. Combine all seasonings (star anise – Thai chilies) in an oven proof dish. You will want to be sure that this dish is deep enough enough room for the 1.5 cups of oil plus an inch or two on top.
2. In a pan, heat the canola oil. Once hot, add the garlic. You will want the garlic to begin to fry but not burn – roughly one minute. Turn off the heat on the pan.
3. Very carefully (over your sink) pour the hot oil into the dish with the seasonings. Once the oil is added, the seasonings will begin to boil. This is what you want! Let the seasonings boil and do their thing for a few minutes while the oil cools.
4. When the oil cools completely, store in a mason jar or other air proof container. To keep it lasting longer, keep it in the refrigerator.
5. Use on top of anything. Dumplings, noodles, tacos, eggs… the sky is the limit!