What To Look For When Buying Chili Flakes For Homemade Chili Oil

There are a thousand ways to give your food a kick, and chili oil is one way that instantly adds heat and a touch of smoky richness. It's good for cooking foods in, like fried eggs, or even used cold atop noodles and salads. It's easy enough to buy a great chili oil for the pantry, but if you want to make it yourself, there are a few important things to keep in mind when choosing the right chili flakes.

Chowhound spoke to Shirley Chung (@chfshirleychung on Instagram), a Chinese-American chef and a BravoTV's "Top Chef" alum, to get some pro tips on making this spicy condiment. You're in luck; according to Chung, you don't actually have to handle or dissect hot fresh chilis for this project. In fact, she recommends, "When making chili oil at home, it is best to use dry chili flakes and powder instead of fresh chili." Easy! That's a lot less work cut out for you, and it minimizes burning your skin. Plus, dry chili flakes are an affordable ingredient found at all standard grocery stores.

As for choosing from the many types of chili, Chung doesn't have a particular variety that is her go-to, so whatever chili flakes you find at the store will be sufficient. That said, she advises, "Home cooks should buy new chili flakes to make chili oil, chili flakes lose their aroma and the natural oil in them oxidizes as they age." We're all afraid to admit it, but even the best home cooks are guilty of keeping spices for far too long!

The ingredients for chili oil shouldn't be complicated — it's just chili flakes and oil, plus some salt any desired seasonings if you want. Garlic and peppercorns are good options, but you could dress it further with star anise, cumin, and dried shallot.

Shirley Chung also has a fun variation on her chili oil that you could imitate easily: "I like to use dry chili flakes, with a combination of cayenne pepper powder for extra heat, and paprika for sweeter pepper flavor and extra rich red color." If you're chili pepper curious, consider trying Bobby Flay's favorite, the Calabrian chili. Or, go a more traditional route and opt for Sichuan chili flakes for robust flavor.

As for the oil, a neutral one with a high smoke point is best. The flavor of the oil shouldn't shine through here, so avoid something like olive or coconut. Grapeseed oil is a good choice because it has a high smoke point and doesn't have much of a noticeable flavor. Even if the oil you're using has a high smoke point, the chili flakes do not. Chung's parting pieces for prepping the chili oil is, "You want to start with warm oil over medium heat, adding chili flakes first, when the chili flakes are turning into a slight brown color and you can smell it in the air, that means your oil temperature is high enough, turn off the heat. Wait about one minute to let the oil cool a little, then add cayenne and paprika powder, so they won't burn."