My husband and I enjoy chili crisp with gyoza, dim sum and noodles. Normally, we have bought this at the Asian store. However, some brands can be quite sweet.

Last year, I had the opportunity to learn to make chili crisp with my son. It was a fun experience understanding the process for this condiment. Recently, I decided to try this out myself and experiment with the combination of chilies and the sweetness.

Ingredients 

• 70 gms dried red chilies , stems removed ( I used a combination of 25 gms árbol chiles, 20 gms japones, 25 g Kashmiri red chiles)
• 50 g roasted, salted peanuts, chopped
• 30 g fresh ginger, sliced into thin matchsticks
• 3 pieces whole star anise
• 2 red or black cardamom pods, split in half
• 3 tablespoons  freshly ground Sichuan peppercorn (see note)
• 1-2 tablespoons sugar ( I started with 2 tbsps and found it too sweet, so I used 1 tbsp the next time)
• 5 tsp Maldon salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 500 g peanut oil, or any neutral oil
• 200 g thinly sliced shallots ( I cut the shallots in half along the length and then sliced them into semicircles)
• 65 g thinly sliced garlic

Putting it together

Using latex gloves, cut open the chilies and shake out the seeds into a bowl, working with one type of chili at a time. Transfer the chilies in batches to a spice grinder and grind to large chili flakes.

In a big glass bowl combine the star anise, cardamom, salt, sugar, crushed Sichuan pepper, cumin powder, black pepper powder, MSG, chopped ginger and chopped peanuts.

Take another heatproof bowl, wide enough to place a fine mesh metal strainer on top.

Pour the oil into a frying pan and add the shallots to the cold oil. Heat this on high heat, stirring constantly until the onions are a light golden colour. Strain the onions using the strainer over the heat proof bowl.

Pour the oil back into the frying pan and add the garlic to it. Heat on medium heat while stirring constantly. Move the fried onions onto a plate lined with kitchen paper. When the garlic is a light golden brown, strain off the garlic using the same strainer as for the onions, and leave to drain.

Pour the oil back into the frying pan and heat to 190 C. Carefully pour the hot oil over the spices and chilies and mix slowly. Leave for an hour to cool completely.

Once the oil mixture is cooled, remove the cardamon and star anise and stir in the fried onions ad garlic.

Store the chili crisp in glass jars in the fridge. It should keep well for 3 months.

The chili crisp is best the next day. Stir well before using.

Enjoy on noodles or gyoza.

Note! I tried this recipe with 45 gms japones chilies, substituting japones for Kashmiri chilies and found the crisp was a little too pungent.