Miso Garlic Chili Oil

A quick and easy-to-make homemade miso garlic chili oil recipe, made with shallots, garlic, Sichuan chili powder, and miso for an umami boost. A great condiment to use on rice, noodles, vegetables, or dumplings!


Chili oil is a staple in most Asian households and is a very versatile condiment that can be used to enhance almost anything. Any family that makes their own chili oil has their own rendition with different spices and everyone has a different preference when it comes to how it should taste. This version of garlic chili oil is not your traditional chili oil. It has a bit more substance from the miso and is partially inspired by one of my favorite chili oils which comes from a local congee restaurant - it's garlicky, salty with a hint of onion and I put it on everything.

INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTIONS FOR MISO GARLIC CHILI OIL

• Chili Flakes - I like to use Sichuan chili flakes (not to be confused for Sichuan pepper/peppercorns) for this recipe because it gives the most flavor and color to the chili oil, which you can find at a Chinese grocery store. That being said, in a pinch I have also used red pepper flakes as well and it worked fine since a lot of the flavors like the miso and the garlic help make up for what the Italian chili flake lacks. Make sure you are using chili flakes and not chili powder (which are used in tacos and contain cumin) or straight-up cayenne pepper. They should be coarse and not a fine powder.
• Garlic - This is one of the main flavors of this chili oil, so there is a lot of it!
• Miso - To give this chili oil a bit of substance, I added miso to it. It gives it a nice salty umami kick, along with some miso flavor. I use white miso (shiro) so that it doesn't overpower all the other flavors.
• Oil - Use flavorless neutral oil to make chili oil. I like to use avocado oil since it has a high smoking point and is healthier than most oil but you can also use canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, or safflower oil. I don't recommend using olive oil for this recipe since it has a low smoking point and a strong flavor to it which can overpower the chili oil.
• Shallots - Frying the shallots in the oil before adds a hint of onion flavor that I feel really enhances this chili oil. I highly recommend not omitting this ingredient. If you can't find shallots, you can use any type of small onion instead.
• Soy Sauce - I use light soy sauce for this recipe since the miso provides the bulk of the sodium. The soy sauce gives the chili oil some more umami flavors but it's mostly used to thin out the miso so that it can be mixed with the chili oil more evenly.
• Sugar - Adding a little sugar balances out the saltiness of the chili oil and gives it a bit more flavor.
• Sesame Seeds - I like to add toasted sesame seeds to the oil for a bit of texture and substance. If your sesame seeds are raw (pale yellow in color), toast them in the pan for a few minutes until they are golden brown to bring out the nuttiness flavor before adding it to the garlic chili oil mix
• Sesame Oil (Optional) - I like to add a bit of sesame oil at the very end for more flavor. It is an optional ingredient. If you do use this, make sure to mix it in at the very end. I find that cooking or applying heat to sesame oil, makes it lose a bit of flavor.

WHAT TYPE OF CHILIS TO USE FOR CHILI OIL?

This is a very versatile condiment and to be honest, there is no right or wrong type of dried chilis for this recipe. The type of dried chilis will be dependant on how you like your chili oil. Some chili flakes are more flavorful, but not very spicy and some chili flakes are more on the spicy side without a lot of flavor. You can mix and match your chili flakes or use one kind. I highly recommend experimenting with the different types of chili flakes until you find the one you like. I personally like the Sichuan chili powder because it has a bit more flavor and it is not very spicy.

• Red Pepper Flakes - If you cannot find Sichuan Chili Flakes/Powder, you can definitely use the red pepper flakes you find at your local grocery store. It is usually made with a mix of chili flakes most commonly cayenne pepper and it works just as well. I use it when I'm out of Sichuan chili powder and I don't have time to go to the grocery store. I find that from the 3 chilis listed here, it usually has the least amount of flavor but it is the spiciest of the 3 types of chili flakes on this list but this will vary depending on the brand.
• Chinese Chili Flakes - These are almost the same as Sichuan chili powder, except they are in larger flakes so it has a bit more texture. You can use solely this type of chili for this ingredient if you want a bit more texture to your sauce. It has almost the same amount of flavor as the Sichuan chili powder and it is also not very spicy.
• Sichuan Chili Powder - This is a mix of Sichuan chili flakes and finely ground chili pepper powder. I find it has the most flavor from the 3 and it is not very spicy. If you like your chili oil spicier, you can mix in a bit of cayenne into it.

 

HOW TO MAKE CHILI OIL

You can make chili oil with a few easy steps! It is one of the easiest recipes to do, and the condiment you create in the end will give you a tasty way to spice up any dish you like!

1. Pre-mix the soy sauce with the miso until it thins out the miso.
   
2. Add the rest of the dry ingredients (except the garlic and shallots) into a heat-safe bowl. Mix the thinned-out miso with the dry ingredients until it is evenly mixed in with the dry ingredients.
3. Grate the garlic and add it at the very top in a thin layer on top of the ingredients
   
4. Finely chop the shallots and set them aside for later.
5. In a small pot, add in the oil and chopped shallots. Set the stove to medium heat. Cook the shallots until it becomes a golden brown color.
6. Once the shallots are golden brown, pour the boiling oil into the bowl of ingredients, focusing on pouring it over the raw garlic to cook it slightly to remove the garlic bite.
7. Let it cool before transferring it to a glass jar and store it in the fridge or use it right away.

WHAT CAN I USE CHILI OIL ON?

Chili oil is a very versatile condiment and depending on how spicy you make it you can put it on many different dishes to enhance the flavors. Remember to mix the oil with the chili flakes together before using it to get the most flavor out of it.

Here are a few things I love drizzling it on:

• Plain white rice -  Mixing this garlic chili oil with plain white rice is my favorite way of flavoring my rice to give it a bit of a kick.
• Dumplings - Drizzling it on dumplings along with a bit of soy sauce on both pan-fried and boiled dumplings is usually the only way I eat them.
• Noodles - Garlic chili oil can transfer almost any noodle dish and give it a wonderful flavor boost! I like to add this into soup noodles by mixing it directly into the soups, and I like to add this to boiled and stir-fried noodles as well to give it a flavor boost.
• Vegetables - Whether it's oven-roasted, steamed, or boiled, I love drizzling a bit of chili oil to my vegetables for a bit more flavor and spice. Sometimes when I'm pressed for time, I will mix this in with raw chopped veggies as a quick and easy sauce, almost like a mild salad dressing.
• Dim Sum - If you have dim sum at home, you can set aside some chili oil to dip your siu mai, shrimp dumplings (har gow), or rice rolls in it.
• Grilled Meats - I like to dip grilled meats into this chili oil to give it a bit more flavor.

HOW LONG CAN I KEEP CHILI OIL FOR?

I store my chili oil in the fridge and it keeps very well for up to 6 months. Just make sure you have it stored in an air-tight container (preferably glass, so that the plastic doesn't leech into the oil). If you plan to keep your chili oil out at room temperature, then I would store it for only 2-3 months.

TIPS FOR MAKING GARLIC CHILI OIL

• If you like a spicier garlic chili oil, mix in a bit of cayenne pepper with the dry ingredients before adding the hot oil
• Use flavorless oil to make chili oil. I like to use avocado oil since it has a high smoking point and is healthier than most oil but you can also use canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, or safflower oil. I don't recommend using olive oil for this recipe since it has a low smoking point and a strong flavor to it which can overpower the chili oil.
• If you are adding sesame oil to it, mix it in at the very end after you have poured the hot oil over the dry ingredients and everything has been mixed. We don't want to cook the sesame oil, since heating it up will remove some of the nutty flavors
• Place the garlic at the very top of all the ingredients right before pouring the hot oil over all the dry ingredients. This will cook heat up the garlic and remove that spicy raw garlic flavor which will make the chili oil flavors meld a bit better.
• Make sure to use a heat-safe bowl when you are making this so that the bowl doesn't crack from the hot oil.
• If you refrigerate this chili oil, the oil will solidify. Before you use it, put it in a small bowl and let it sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes - the oil will become liquid-form and the chili oil will have a better flavor as well.
• Try to store your chili oil in a glass jar so that the plastic doesn't leech into your chili oil

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