Spicy Chile Crisp
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What condiment is equally tasty on eggs, pizza and rice? Nope, it’s not hot sauce. It’s this spicy chile crisp recipe, courtesy of The Pepper Thai Cookbook: Family Recipes from Everyone’s Favorite Thai Mom by Pepper Teigen (aka Chrissy Teigen’s mom).
While the crunchy sauce is Chinese in origin, it's found in many Asian cuisines. The spicy-salty-sweet combination of garlic, shallot, sugar and chiles is totally irresistible. And, sure, you could just buy a jar, but making it at home is simple and satisfying. Make it once and you’ll be putting it on every dish imaginable, even vanilla ice cream (trust us).
Reprinted from The Pepper Thai Cookbook. Copyright © 2021 by Vilailuck Teigen with Garrett Snyder. Photographs copyright © 2021 by Jenny Huang. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Random House.
Ingredients
¾ cup dried red chiles, such as Thai, de árbol, or Japones
4 small shallots, thinly sliced
12 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1½ cups vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon sugar, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Place the chiles on a sheet pan in a single layer and roast for about 5 minutes, shaking the pan halfway through to make sure they don’t burn. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool, then transfer to a mortar or blender and grind until you’re left with crushed chile flakes.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the shallots, garlic and oil. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the garlic and shallots are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. In a heatproof medium bowl, combine the chile flakes, sesame seeds, white pepper, sugar and salt. Set a fine-mesh sieve over the bowl and pour the garlic-shallot mixture into it. Set the sieve of garlic and shallots aside to cool completely so they become crisp.
5. Once the oil is cooled to room temperature, stir the cooled and crisp shallots and garlic back into the oil. Taste and add more sugar or salt as needed. Transfer to an airtight jar and refrigerate for up to 1 month. Stir well before using.
Per 2 tablespoons
84 calories
9g fat
2g carbs
0g protein
1g sugars