To say “chili crisp” is having a moment is an understatement. Although the condiment has been around for ages, it’s getting a lot of trendy attention because of its ability to really amp up flavor to a huge variety of dishes. Not so much “crisp,” but full of chunky texture and umami, chili crisp can be used on just about every meat and fish, with eggs, over noodles, as a spread or dipping sauce, over air-fried chicken wings, into soup for zing… the possibilities are endless. After researching and trying a variety of recipes in the Real Food Traveler test kitchen, we’ve come up with a really easy chili crisp recipe that works beautifully on its own but that can also be a base for variations you may want to try. Note, chili crisp would make a great gift. This recipe can easily be multiplied so you can make a big batch to divvy up among friends and family.

Save this recipe for Easy Chili Crisp to Pinterest to keep it handy. Graphic by Real Food Traveler.

Hungry for more? Add this Chili Crisp to these game day foods for the win.

Real Food Traveler’s Easy Chili Crisp Recipe with Variations

Makes approximately 1 to 1 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1/2 cup peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 TBS sesame seeds
1/4 cup dried, minced onions (Variation: 1/2 cup finely diced red onion)
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt (Variation: pink Himalayan salt for more texture)
1 1/3 cup finely crushed small chiles or chile pepper flakes
1 TBS soy sauce
1 TBS minced garlic
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled (the side of a spoon works great), and finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick (Variation: this and the anise pods can be skipped but they do add a nice element)
4 star anise pods
1/4 tsp anchovy paste (Variation: this can be skipped but it does add a non-fishy “umami” element)

Put all the ingredients in the pan and heat.

Directions for making easy chili crisp:

While several recipes we researched called for cooking some of the ingredients in the oil, then straining them to try to crisp them, before then pouring everything over more of the ingredients, we didn’t find that these additional steps were necessary. What started out “crisp” doesn’t end up staying crisp as it sits in the oil. We found that cooking all of the ingredients together, slowly, yielded the best flavor.

1. In a small sauce pan, with NO oil, toast the sesame seeds, stirring frequently and watching them carefully until they are just golden but not brown.
2. Add all of the other ingredients except the oil into that same pan and stir. You’re doing this before adding the oil so that it doesn’t splatter on you.
3. Carefully add the oil and heat everything over medium heat for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You aren’t trying to boil anything, you’re just giving it a chance to “bloom” in the heating oil.
4. If you are using a cinnamon stick and star anise, remove them with a slotted spoon. They’ve done their job and shouldn’t go in the jar.
5. Remove the pan from the heat and let everything cool down before pouring it into a heat-proof jar, like a mason jar.
6. While the chili crisp can be used as soon as you make it, it’s much better the next day and up to 2 weeks as the flavors meld and get richer over time. Store the jar in the refrigerator.

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I drizzled this easy chili crisp recipe over smashed potatoes and over-easy eggs for breakfast.

We drizzled chili crisp over sauteed chicken thighs served with rice and sauteed squash from our garden.