I believe Heather has mentioned in another post how we occasionally give each other food challenges; we'll find some new or unique ingredients and see what we can develop with it. I first discovered chili crisp in the fall of 2024. I was perusing the Asian section at our local market when I saw a small jar of it looking innocent among the other sauces. I love chilis, and I love crispiness. Being a horrible impulse shopper, I bought a jar and took it home.
We each tried a taste and were intrigued by its spicy crispness and the complexity of its flavor. We both vowed to find a way to use this and returned it to the refrigerator where it sat for a few weeks while we became involved with several events at our home. We hosted our first Murder Mystery Dinner and a few weeks later, opened our home for a Wassailing Tour in Belvidere, NJ. By the time we remembered our delectable crisp, it was New Year's Eve.
A few days earlier, Heather had been reading the top recipes from the New York Times and came across one for Chili Crisp Alredo Sauce. Was this for real? Heather makes an incredible Alfredo and now we can add the crisp to it? We instantly had our final meal of 2024 planned; homemade gnocchi with broccoli rabe and Chili Crisp Alfredo Sauce.
A few weeks later we made it again for Lexi, our daughter. Needless to say, when she returned to her apartment at school, she took with her several bags of gnocchi and our jar of chili crisp. Oh, the sacrifices parents make. However, two years ago I began making my own hot sauces from the peppers we grow and I happened to have some tabasco peppers in the freezer. I read many different ways of making chili crisp and discovered there are dozens of variations, and this could be an understatement. I took ideas and ingredients from several sources and made my own from the tabasco peppers. I made a pint jar and a month later, it's almost empty. We find ways of using it several times each week, and I'm sure we'll be posting one or more of those recipes in this blog.
Feel free to adjust this recipe to your spice tolerance. We like a good kick, akin to a nice hot wing.
Tabasco Chili Crisp
Makes 1 Pint Takes about 1 hour
1 oz tabasco peppers, chopped 1/4 cup Korean Red Pepper Powder
1 1/2 cup peanut oil 1 TBS Gochugaru powder
1 shallot, chopped 1 TBS Coconut Aminos (or soy sauce)
10 garlic cloves, chopped 1 tsp sugar
1 tsp cumin seed 1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp Szechuan Peppercorns (Mix the ingredients in this column in a heat proof
4 Star Anise Pods bowl)
Cook shallots in Peanut Oil on medium low for about 10 minutes.
Add garlic and cook another 5 minutes.
Add cumin, Star Anise and Szechuan Peppercorns and continue cooking until the shallots and garlic are brown, about 20-30 minutes total.
Strain the oil into the bowl with the pepper flake mixture from the 2nd column above. Let the browned ingredients cool and they will continue to crisp. If you want them smaller, they should now chop easily.
Remove the Star Anise Pods and combine crispy bits with the rest of the ingredients.
When cool, jar and refrigerate. The flavors will meld and develop overnight.
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