Katsuobushi Chilli Oil (Chili Crisp)

Chinese Chilli Oil (or Chili Crisp)

So you know I love my spicy condiments, right? If you receive my chilli emails, then you know that we have lots of different recipes here on LinsFood and over on Singaporean and Malaysian Recipes.

And I love Chinese style chilli oils! The basic chilli oil needs only a flavourless oil, dried chillies and salt. That’s it. From this base, you can pretty much let your imagination run wild, adding your part to a fluid puzzle.

Unlike the Western plain, red coloured chilli oil, the East Asian variety has bits in the oil, whether chilli flakes, crispy bits of onions, dried shrimp and so on. It is these bits that’s led to this Chinese chilli oil being called Chili Crisp in the US.

Today’s katsuobushi chilli oil is a version of your basic Chinese chilli oil, with the katsuobushi flakes playing a prominent part.

What is Katsuobushi?

Katsuobushi is dried and smoked bonito, or skipjack tuna. It is a much loved Japanese ingredient and like dried shrimp and shrimp paste, provide an incredible flavour and that much coveted hit of umami.

It will be found in most East Asian stores, whether Japanese or otherwise, and you know it, definitely online. Katsuobushi is usually sold in paper-thin shaved flakes, as you can see in the image below. Here is my global Amazon link, if you want to get it online.

Katsuobushi Chilli Oil

So making our katsuobushi chilli oil is super easy and pretty quick. All we do is:

1. Cut up dried red chillies with a pair of scissors (1 minute).
2. Simmer the oil, chilli and a few other ingredients (see below) for 10 minutes. Then leave for 2 more minutes. We are infusing the oil in this step.
3. While the oil is infusing, toast some sesame seeds (2-3 minutes). Always toast your own sesame seeds for the freshest flavour.
4. Crush (chop or pound) some roasted peanuts. Peanuts on the other hand, are perfectly fine when bought pre roasted. (1 minute)
5. Place the katsuobushi flakes in a large bowl and strain the hot oil all over and stir to soften the flakes.
6. Add chilli flakes, sesame seeds and peanuts, salt and a pinch of sugar. Mix well.
7. Transfer to a jar, leave to cool to room temperature and store in the fridge for up to a month.

I’m using only 250 ml (1 cup) of oil as I like a thick chilli oil that resembles a sambal. However, if you like a runnier katsuobushi chilli oil, double the oil and everything in Ingredients A in the recipe card below. And the salt, naturally.

The Ingredients

Katsuobushi

We’ve talked about this above. As the hot oil is poured over the flakes, they do a little dance and soften. Along with the nuts, seeds and flakes, they’ll form the “bits” in our chilli oil.

Oil

We want a flavourless oil, so vegetable oil or peanut oil will work best. Corn oil, rapeseed oil, whatever you normally have in your kitchen is perfectly fine.

Any oil that has its own flavour is going to upset the taste of our katsuobushi chilli, and won’t let the other ingredients shine through.

Red Chillies and Chilli Flakes

I always use dried red chilli flakes for my chilli oils, and if it’s an Asian flavoured one, definitely the non smoky variety. You could use fresh red chillies too, but you want to ensure that they are completely dry before adding to the oil to infuse.

Red chilli flakes add more heat to our Japanese flavoured chilli oil and also form the bits at the bottom of the jar. Use hotter flakes for a hotter chilli oil.

Spices and Aromatics

I always vary the spices I use when making chilli oils. It’s all about building on the flavours for infusing the oil. These are the ingredients that will be strained out. In our katsuobushi chilli oil, we are using:

• Sichuan peppercorns – click to read more. A favourite ingredient, I use it A LOT. My 14 year old loves adding them to his scrambled eggs!
• star anise
• ginger
• garlic

The Other “Bits” in Katsuobushi Chilli Oil

So besides the katsuobushi flakes and the chilli flakes, we also use:

• sesame seeds
• peanuts

You can leave these out or substitute them if you are not keen or can’t eat them. There are no hard and fast rule to this katsuobushi chilli oil, apart from the katsuobushi flakes and chillies!

Apart from what’s mentioned above, naturally, we’ll need some salt and sugar, but only a pinch of the latter. For balance.

How to use Katsuobushi Chilli Oil

I use it as a condiment as well as a cooking ingredient, as I do with most of my spicy sambals and such.

As an ingredient, it makes a great addition to marinades and salad dressings. It’s also perfect in stir-fries and jazzes up eggs, potatoes and the plain old sandwich.

Our katsuobushi chilli oil is wonderful with some rice or noodles. It makes a very quick and easy lunch if you stir it through some cooked noodles, with fish sauce (or soy sauce) and serve it up with some blanched spinach and an egg, see image below. Super easy, typical Oriental street food meal.

And on that note, shall we get our aprons on?

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