Categories: Food

Homemade Chili Crisp

If you’re the kind of person who keeps chili crisp on hand in multiple, making your own is going to be a revelation, especially this version. This is chili crisp flecked with fresh orange zest and fried shallots. It is chili forward and as feisty as the chili flakes you choose. A spectrum of spices works in fragrant concert with toasted nuts (and pepitas!), and the wildcard ingredient is finely chopped dates. Like all your favorite chili crisps, this brings plenty of fire, crunch, umami, spice, and chewy sweetness to everything you spoon it on.

Homemade Chili Crisp: The Inspiration

One of the things that initially excited me about being on the early internet was being able to connect with people from all over the world. It seemed magical to me. Many of the people I met during that era, decades ago, are still a part of my life now. A lot has changed since then, but there are moments when I still feel the magic. An example is connecting with Rawaan Alkhatib. She’s a creative delight and multi-talented whirlwind. A couple weeks ago she sent me her debut cookbook, Hot Date! and all my plans for the rest of the afternoon went out the window.

It’s exactly the kind of cookbook I love and the most charming, high frequency love letter to dates imaginable. Rawaan wrote it, she illustrated it, and she calls the project “a hot pink, hot date, disco oasis dreamhouse.” I 100% concur. Today’s recipe is her take on chili crisp – a date-centric, kaleidoscopically-spiced launch off the beloved Chinese condiment. You have to try it.

Chili Crisp Ingredients

A few notes related to key ingredients in this recipe.

Red Chile Pepper Flakes: As I mention in the recipe below the chili flakes in this recipe really set the tone and foundation – vibe, heat level, flavor, etc. Rawaan recommends using mild red chili flakes, such as Urfa biber or gochugaru. That said, don’t let the idea that you don’t have the “right” chile flakes on hand deter you from making this – use what you have and adjust the next time around. That’s what’s great about making your own chili crisp. For example, I’ve done a version of this chili crisp using my favorite smoked chili flakes. It transforms the crisp into something deep and moody, completely different than the version with unsmoked chili flakes. A long way of saying, play around!
Chile Powder: This is where your heat level can really come into play and vary. The main thing is to use a pure, 100% chili powder, not a blend of spices labelled chili powder. Similar to the discussion of chili flakes above, your choice is going to impact your heat level and set the foundation here.
Nuts: I’ve been using pistachios because I have a huge bag of them, they’re a beautiful bright green, and they’re delicious. Slivered almonds are in Rawaan’s recipe, use what you have!
Shallots: Crispy fried shallots are a key ingredient here. You have two options – buy them or cook them yourself. If you opt for the latter, here’s how: Peel shallots and evenly slice transparently thin. Place in small, saucepan, barely cover with oil, and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until shallots are deeply golden brown. Remove shallots from oil with a spider or slotted spoon and allow to cool and crisp on a plate lined with paper towels. I add a couple pinches of salt. Reserve oil for another use, like this amazing cilantro salad.
Dried Mushroom Powder: This brings the umami to the party. I keep porcini mushroom powder on hand, you might have shiitake or another type of mushroom, use whatever you have. If you have dried mushrooms on hand, you can give them a spin in a high speed blender to turn into a powder.
Dates: One of the components that make this chili crisp unique. Here’s one of Rawaan’s illustrated pages.

How To Make Chili Crisp

The most time consuming part of this tends to be wrangling the ingredients. The next thing you do is make a flavor-packed chili and spice mixture with chile flakes, chile powder, orange zest, and all kinds of other ingredients that smell incredible. Set that aside, and cook garlic and ginger in a good amount of oil. You cook these until the garlic starts to look a bit toasted.

At that point stir in the nuts and seeds. Continue cooking until the garlic gets golden and crispy. You can see things getting close in the photo above. Push the garlic and ginger aside and add the fried shallots, dates, and the spice mixture off heat. The spices will hit the hot oil and get fragrant and toasted. See below.

Once the spice mixture is toasted, stir everything together until the ingredients are well combined. Store, refrigerated, in a glass jar.

Ways To Use Chili Crisp

Here’s a list of all the ways I’ve been using it, plus a few ideas on my radar as I finish off the current jar.

Spooned over perfect guacamole.
Finishing accent on this breakfast casserole.
Spread across the bottom of this quiche before filling with the remaining ingredients prior to baking.
Over a simple tofu scramble in the morning. Also great in a breakfast burrito. Breakfast / brunch has been a thing lately.
In her headnotes, Rawaan mentions that her favorite way to use this chili crisp is to, “spread it thickly onto a slab of sheep’s milk feta, shingle that with thinly sliced figs, and bake in the oven at 350°F / 180°F until the cheese turns soft and custardy, but still retains its shape.” Sounds amazing.
Over a baked potato (or baked sweet potato), with more fried shallots if you have them and a dollop of sour cream, creme fraiche, or salted yogurt.
These brownies with a baby scoop of good vanilla gelato and a spoonful of this chili crisp.

Other Chili Crisps to Try

I’m still tasting my way through the always evolving chili crisp landscape. Arguably, you can’t go wrong with KariKari chili crisp, or Fly By Jing Xtra Spicy Chili Crisp – I tend to re-buy both of those. Also! I was over at my friend Jessica Winzelberg’s the other day and we ended up talking through her chili crisp collection faves including this kombu-accented one and this crispy chili made with Marcona olives.