The very first time Alex tried chili crisp was at a dim sum place in San Francisco. We were there with a friend who used it liberally with his dumplings. Alex was instantly hooked on the idea of this spicy, crunchy, complex condiment.
Our recent New Year's Day ritual is to go out for dim sum. There is a pretty good place, less than an hour from home, that doesn't involve driving into Philly. This year we picked up the dim sum and brought it home. Fortunately, last year I bit the bullet and worked out a recipe for homemade chili crisp, that I never got around to posting here. This new year seems like a good time to share the recipe so everyone can make high quality chili crisp at home. I make mine with a lower proportion of oil than some because Alex eats likes a lot of crunchies when he uses it. If you like more oil, you can increase the amount in the recipe by 1/2 cup. I use roasted chick peas instead of roasted soybeans because they are easier to find and I like their flavor a little bit better. Once you have this in the pantry, you will discover that chili crisp can go almost anywhere you want some heat and crunch. If you like spicy it is a great condiment, so much better than the ubiquitous pepper mill. Fresh spices and good oil make all the difference.
Chili Crisp
1 head garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups sunflower seed oil (or other neutral oil)
4 shallots, thinly sliced
2 inches fresh ginger, thinly sliced
½ cinnamon stick
2 small pieces star anise
1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 3-4 ounce jar crushed red pepper
½ cup roasted chickpeas, soybeans or peanuts
Put the garlic and sunflower seed oil in a medium pot and set over medium heat. Fry until the garlic turns golden brown, and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve. Strain oil through a fine sieve and return to the pot. Add the shallots and fry shallots until they are golden brown. Transfer the shallots to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve. Strain oil and return the oil to the pot and add the ginger. Fry ginger until crispy and then transfer to a plate lined with paper towels and reserve. Meanwhile pulverize spices, sugar and salt in a spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle to a fine powder. Put them in a medium pot and stir in the crushed red pepper. After frying the ginger, strain the hot oil over the spice mixture and stir to blend. Put the chickpeas, garlic, shallots and ginger in a blender and pulverize until they form rough crumbs. Stir into the chili mixture. Let cool and transfer to one quart or 2 pint sized mason jar(s). Store in the refrigerator.
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