Crispy Shallot Chilli Oil Recipe

Felicity Vincent
Mar 4, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Dec 11, 2024

Crispy chilli oil is the perfect sauce to drizzle on anything that needs a crispy savoury kick

If you haven't tried it before, it's one of the most satisfying things. It's like sprinkling crispy onions on top of a dish except it's also spicy and full of umami flavours like garlic, soy sauce and 5 spice.

I make it using shallots, currently in season (March-June), as they have a milder sweeter flavour which pairs so well with the spices in the oil.

It's delicious sprinkled on everything from stir fries to hummus toast and salads or even just plain rice.

Ingredients: (makes 2 x 300g jars)

Crispy shallot chilli oil:

5 shallots
3 garlic cloves
500mL vegetable oil
2 Tbs soy sauce
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 Tbs 5 spice
1 Tbs caraway seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
30g chilli flakes (I like to use 1/2 chipotle flakes as well if I have them in the cupboard)
2 sterilised glass jars, such as old jam jars that have been cleaned and soaked in boiling water for 3 minutes.

Method: (see photos below)

Start by halving and peeling the shallots. Then slice them as thinly as you can with a sharp knife. The main thing is to try to keep the thickness consistent so they all take as long to cook.
Peel the garlic cloves and again slice them as finely as possible.
Heat up the oil in a large saucepan, it’s ready when you drop a small bit of shallot in the oil and it starts to bubble straight away.
Fry off the shallots in small batches until they’re brown then remove from the oil and onto parchment paper. Season with a bit of salt. Once the shallots are done, fry off the garlic and drain onto kitchen paper again. Leave them to the side to cool down, this will ensure they stay crispy later on in the oil. Note, it’s best to remove them from the frying oil when they are light brown as they will carry on cooking a bit once removed.
Let the oil cool down for 2 minutes or poor into a bowl, then add the whole spices and stir. Add the soy sauce slowly to avoid the oil bubbling over too much.
Leave to cool down for at least 15 minutes then add the shallots and garlic back into the oil and stir.
Decant the crispy chilli oil into the jars and leave overnight to mellow before eating.
Add on top of any dish that needs a little crispy umami spice and bon appétit!

A satisfying crisp:

More about this recipe:

You can store it in any old glass jar but make sure to sterilise them first so that it can last longer, it needs to be in boiling water for at least 3 minutes to be sterilised but the longer the better.

Shallots are a great source of fibre, biotin and Vitamin C.

They're also very restorative as they contain:

Allium sulphur compound - highest in garlic, they have been shown to reduce incidence of cardiovascular diseases.

Flavanoids - shown to reduce risk of some chronic diseases and cancers.

You can also swap the shallots in this recipe for spring onions for a slightly different depth of flavour, or use red onions if that's all you can find.