Chef Liu’s Sichuan Chili Oil Recipe (Xiangla Hongyou 香辣红油)

This chili oil recipe was taught to me by Sichuan Chef Liu when I was living in Chengdu, China running a cooking school. And we think this is the best chili oil recipe you'll ever make! Also known as Xiangla Hongyou or 香辣红油, we served this chili oil with Sichuan wontons among other Sichuan cold dishes and noodle dishes we sold in our cafè for people to eat before or after taking one of our classes.

This highly addictive sesame-flecked red chili oil is perfectly spicy, full of toasted fragrant flavor and it's as mild or hot and mala (mouth-numbing) as you want to make it. For us, this chili oil is the Macgyver of all chili oils (and possibly of all condiments).

For anyone new to this Chinese sauce, I've included my best chili oil tips, substitutions, and step-by-step recipe, and plenty of ways for you to use chili oil with photos below. 

 

Chef Liu knew how much I loved his chili oil and taught me to make it the traditional way showing me how to adjust it to change the spice and mala levels. He also showed me how to easily turn it into a garlic chili oil or a peanut chili crisp oil.

And after living in Chengdu for 4 years and just about eating my weight in chili oil from countless hole-in-the-wall mom-and-pop restaurants to the Ritz Carlton,  I can confidently say this is our all-time favorite chili oil recipe.

Why We Love This Chili Oil Recipe (Szechuan Chili Oil)

• Authentic recipe taught to me by my friend Sichuan Chef, Chef Liu
• It takes minutes to make and is so much cheaper than store-bought
• No MSG or subpar mystery ingredients (you know exactly what's in your chili oil)
• Tastes just like the chili oil you'll find throughout the Sichuan province
• Use it to easily make garlic chili oil
• Use it to make crispy peanut chili oil
• Toasting raw sesame seeds adds more flavor than using pre-roasted seeds
• You can add it to almost anything (i.e. pork buns, Sichuan cold dishes, BLTs, noodle dishes, tacos, you name it)
• You can easily adjust the spicy heat level and the mouth-numbing level when you make it at home
• Using roasted rapeseed oil yields the best flavor, but grape seed oil, peanut oil, etc. make great substitutes

What is Chili Oil (Xiangla Honyou 香辣红油 )?

Genuine Sichuan chili oil (Xiangla Honyou) is one of the most addictive, roasty, spicy, crispy red chili oils you will ever eat. Chili oil (also called red chili oil) is a bedrock of Sichuan cooking and is used as an ingredient in various Szechuan sauces and is also enjoyed daily (and abundantly) as a condiment for anything.

Homemade chili oil is so much better and full of flavor in a way that even the best chili oil brand from your local store can will probably never match. If you're not in the Sichuan province, then the best Chinese chili oil will always be the one you make yourself.

How to Use Chili Oil (Xiangla Honyou 香辣红油 )

We drizzle and douse Szechuan oil on everything from fried eggs to Sichuan wontons in chili oil, drizzled over crackers or homemade har gow shrimp dumplings, used to make Sichuan Cream Cheese Chili Oil Dip, spooned over homemade authentic Italian tortellini (which seems blasphemous but is sooo good), for chicken potstickers, or wonton potstickers, used to make Chili Oil Firecracker Shrimp (recipe coming soon),

This chili oil is also perfect for making smashed cucumber salad, your favorite dan dan noodles recipe, chili oil noodles, sesame chili oil noodles, drizzled over hot wings, grilled meats, a summer tomato salad, or Caprese salad. Endlessly delicious.

 

What is Sichuan Chili Oil Made of?

Traditional chili oil is made using caiziyou oil (a deliciously fragrant non-GMO expeller-pressed roasted rapeseed oil) and toasted whole Sichuan red chilis (i.e. zi dan you, bullet head, or chao tian jiao which are also called "Facing Heaven", "Er Jing Tiao", and "Xiao mi la" chilis and aromatics. If you can't find caiziyou oil where you live, you can substitute another high smoke point oil like peanut oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil, or even canola oil, although the flavor will differ from that of roasted rapeseed oil.

The chili oil is infused with fragrant scallions, shallots, ginger, red Sichuan flower pepper (花椒 (huājiāo) for a mala effect, toasted sesame seeds, and whole Sichuan five-spice ingredients like black cardamom, white cardamom, Chinese cinnamon (cassia bark), star anise, and bay leaves at a minimum. But often also includes white peppercorns, sand ginger (from the ginger and galangal family), and sometimes cilantro.

And if you want to make garlic chili oil, you only need to add garlic to this already delicious chili oil!

A Guide to Sichuan Pepper: What Chili Peppers to Use For Sichuan Chili Oil? 

Depending on the flavor profile you want to achieve with your final chili oil, you can choose from a handful of Sichuan chili peppers to balance the flavor. Sichuan chili oil often features Facing Heaven chilis or a combination of 2 to 4 different types of chilis which balance the aroma and the heat level in the final chili sauce.

For this recipe, I've used Facing Heaven chilis which have medium heat with a robust roasted flavor that I love, and just a few Tribute Sichuan peppercorns for flavor and less mouth-numbing quality so I can use the sauce more universally.

If you're using a combination of three chilis, I suggest a 3:2:1 ratio of 3:Facing Heaven/2:Er Jing Tiao/1:Xiao Mi La). Below, I've outlined the different types of Sichuan chili peppers used for making chili oil and the characteristics of each so you can decide what combination to use.

Types of chili peppers:

• Facing Heaven chilis [Used for aroma and color, moderate heat]: (aka. zi dan tou, Bullet head, or Chao tian jiao) these bright red aromatic medium-heat chilis grow towards the sky on the plant hence their name. In Chengdu, you'll see these used in lots of dishes, but one of my favorites is "gong bao chicken" (kung pao chicken).
  

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• Er Jing Tiao chilis [Used for aroma and color, low heat]: are longer than the other three chilis listed here with a deep red hue. They're very fragrant with mild to moderate heat and are widely used fresh and dried by everyone in Chengdu and the Sichuan province as a whole. These are the same chilis used to make fermented bean paste (doubanjiang) from Pixan.
  

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• Xiao mi la chilies [Used for heat only]: are the smallest and hottest of our dried peppers. Very popular in Sichuan, xiao mi la brings the heat for those who want their Sichuan dishes extra spicy. This is the chili most often used in mala hot pot. It is also the chili of choice in Yunnan and other southern provinces.
  

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• Lantern chilis [Used for aroma and heat]: (deng long jiao) are deep red, moderately hot, and get their namesake because they look like lanterns.
  

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For an even deeper red color chili oil, you can add 'er jing tiao" chilis or use Sichuan chili flakes instead.

For a spicier (hotter) chili oil, you can add a few "xiao mi la" chilis which are the spiciest Sichuan peppers you'll find.

For more mala (tingling mouth sensation), add more Sichuan peppercorns.

Overview: Sichuan Chili Oil (Xiangla Hongyou 香辣红油) Ingredients 

Sichuan chili oil is a condiment that is used multiple times a day in just about every household in Chengdu and the surrounding Sichuan province. And since it's so often used, home cooks and chefs typically make their own because it's super easy, cheap, and customizable as you'll see by the ingredients used to make it.

• 2 cups caiziyou oil (roasted rapeseed oil) (425g) (sub peanut, avocado, grapeseed, or canola oil) 
• 3 ½ ounces whole "Facing Heaven" dried chilis (100g) (sub 1 cup Sichuan chili flakes) 
• 2 tablespoons freshly toasted sesame seeds (16g)
• 1 knob of fresh ginger (1 ounce), sliced (30g)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 scallions, roughly chopped (40g)
• 1 shallot, sliced (15g) (sub white or yellow onion) 
• 2 Chinese black cardamom berry (tsao ko OR cao guo)
• 3 Chinese small white cardamom berries (Bai Dou Kou)
• 3 whole star anise (bajiao) (1.5g)
• 2-inch piece of Chinese cinnamon (cassia bark) (2g)
• 8 red Sichuan flower peppers (huajiao) (3g) (or up to 1 tablespoon or more for more numbing mala quality)
• 8 whole white peppercorns
• 2 pieces of shannai/shajiang (dried sand ginger)

Other optional aromatic add-ins you can also throw in (but I did not):

• one bunch of cilantro
• 1 to 2 cloves

How to Make Chili Oil From Scratch (Sichuan Xiangla Hongyou 香辣红油) 

I make chili oil using a wok, but you can easily make it in a large sauté pan, dutch oven, or stock pot. If you do use a dutch oven it can be a little trickier because this type of pan holds on to heat longer than stainless steel.

1. Toast the sesame seeds. Add sesame seeds to a skillet and toast them until golden brown over medium heat. Remove them to a large stainless steel and set aside.
2. Wash the chili peppers & toast them. Skip to step #4 if using dried chili flakes instead of whole chilis. Wash the chili peppers in a bowl of water to remove any residue, strain them and add them to a wok (or large sauté pan) set over medium-high heat. Dry fry the chilis moving them around constantly to remove the water and toast them (about 6 to 7 minutes). Remove them to the bowl of a food processor and turn off the heat. *Alternatively, you can crush the chilis using a mortar and pestle. 
3. Crush the chilis. Pulse the chilis to chop them until they are just about the size of crushed red chili flakes. Add them to the stainless steel bowl with sesame seeds and stir to combine. 
4. Heat the caiziyou oil 455°F/235°C. Skip this step if using peanut, canola, or grape seed oil. Using a thermometer, heat the roasted rapeseed oil just until smoking to remove the raw flavor and immediately turn off the heat. The temperature should not exceed  464°F/220°C.
5. Infuse the oil with aromatics. When the oil has cooled by about a ⅓ (to 305°F/152°C), add all of the aromatics and cook over medium-low heat until the scallions turn golden brown (about 20 minutes). Keep an eye on the oil temperature to maintain a bubbling sizzle throughout. The oil should not be so hot that it splatters or smokes heavily. For an even tastier oil, you can continue cooking it for up to 1 hour if you have time). Strain the aromatics from the oil and reserve them for making a homemade Sichuan broth or discard.
6. Add the oil to the chilis & sesame seeds. Heat the oil back up to 365°F/185°C and add ⅓ of the oil to the chili mixture and stir to combine. Next, add another ⅓ of the oil and stir to combine. Add the last of the oil to the chili mixture and stir to combine. Allow the chili oil to cool slightly and add it to a heatproof glass jar, seal, and allow it to infuse for 24 hours before using (if you can wait that long), Enjoy!

How to Make Sichuan Chili Oil step-by-step photos

Does Chili Oil Need To Be Refrigerated?

Traditional Sichuan chili oil does not need to be refrigerated because it doesn't include garlic. This means you can store homemade chili oil at room temperature for several weeks in a sealed jar, or up to 6 months or longer in the refrigerator. Just be sure to use a clean spoon every time you dip into the jar so you don't contaminate it which can add bacteria to it.

In every Sichuan commercial restaurant kitchen that I've been in, there is always a big stainless steel "vat" of house-made chili oil with a ladle resting in it so it can easily be added to dishes. After service, it gets covered with a stainless steel lid and left at room temperature.

If you want to make chili garlic oil, it should be refrigerated to keep bacteria from growing.

 

Sichuan Chili Oil Best Tips

Making Sichuan spicy chili oil at home is super easy! But there are a few things to keep in mind so you have the best results. Here are a few of my best tips for making a better chili oil at home.

Use Caiziyou oil (roasted rapeseed oil) for the best flavor. This typical oil used in Sichuanese cuisine is incredibly fragrant. My entire apartment building would be filled with the warm roasted scent of this oil at least twice a day when neighbors were cooking lunch or dinner. It's unlike any oil we have in the US or Europe.

It's hard to describe what caiziyou oil (Sichuan rapeseed oil) smells like when it's being cooked, but the closest thing I can come up with is that it smells similar (but better) to how roasting peanuts smell. If you can't find roasted rapeseed oil, substitute peanut oil, or another neutral oil with a high smoke point. Just know the chili oil will be missing a dimension of flavor, but it'll still be delicious.

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Caiziyou oil should be heated to just around 464°F/240°C to its smoking point before infusing it. Unlike canola oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, or grapeseed oil (etc,), caiziyou oil has a raw aroma that needs to be cooked out of it before infusing it with the aromatics and adding it to the dried chilis or chili powder.

This is why the oil is first heated in the wok until it smokes (around (464°F/240°C) and then allowed to cool slightly before adding the aromatics to infuse the oil. If you're using an oil other than caiziyou, you can skip this step.

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Fry the aromatics on medium-low until golden brown but not burned. The aromatics should be sizzling steadily as they cook, but there shouldn't be any splattering or a lot of black smoke coming up from the oil as it infuses. By maintaining just the right frying temperature, you can infuse the oil for a longer period before the aromatics are browned and need to be removed.

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Be careful when dry roasting (or toasting) whole chilis so they don't burn. Make sure your wok or skillet is not turned up so high that the chilis burn on the outside before getting toasted and all of the water evaporates from when you cleaned them. Adjust the temperature as needed to avoid this.

Inevitably, you will have a few chili seeds that come loose from inside the whole chilis and are black from being burned (see photo below). Remove them before adding the whole chilis to the food processor to chop. This will keep your chili oil from being bitter.

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The best Chinese red pepper substitute are red pepper flakes (red chili flakes), Korean red pepper flakes, etc. but they will not have the same flavor as Chinese chili peppers.

 

Looking for a Few More Delicious Dim Sum or Asian Dishes?

If you're looking for more Chinese New Year dishes to make below are a few of our favorites we think you'll enjoy!

• Lucky Lunar New Year Fried Cherry Pie “Wontons”
• Homemade Chinese Soup Dumplings Xiaolongbao (小笼包) (100% From Scratch)
• Easy Egg Drop Soup with Crispy Fried Wonton Strips (Danhuatang 蛋花湯)
• Homemade Chinese Wonton Wrappers
• Easy Homemade 2-Ingredient Chinese Dumpling Dough
• Takeout Style Pork and Green Bean Stir-Fry w/Glass Noodles
• Easy Pork and Chive Potstickers w/Sautéed Napa Cabbage & Carrots (Jiaozi)
• 20-Minute Singapore Mei Fun Noodles (Shrimp Mei Fun)
• Best Ever Chicken Dumplings Recipe (Plump & Juicy Jiaozi)
• Easy Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry (w/Cantonese Style White Sauce)
• Easy and Delicious Pork Potsticker Recipe (Cantonese Style Jiaozi)
• Crispy Pork and Chive Spring Rolls w/Glass Noodles & Vegetables
• Steamed Pork & Chive Money Bag Dumplings (Beggar’s Purse Dumplings)
• Hoisin Garlic-Ginger Oven-Braised Pork Ribs
• Pork and Vegetable Xiaolongbao Soup Dumplings (小笼包) (w/Short Rib & Pork Aspic)
• Chinese Special Fried Rice 扬州炒饭 (Yangzhou Fried Rice)

Let's get started!

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