Chile Crisp

they are replying to a suggestion by one reviewer to use half vegetable oil and half sesame oil. That is the problem with sorting the Cooking Notes by "most helpful" - you never see the original post, as in this case, nor any answers/suggestions to "most helpful" questions that others have !! I wish NYT would add a tag to indicate that the Cooking Note is a reply to another note, as they do with the reader comments on other articles.

You'll want to add sesame oil at the end, since heating it will destroy the fragrance.

Lisa Lin, whom I follow on Instagram, posted a recipe for a sauce which consisted of frying a lot of minced garlic until it was just brown then mixing it with chili crisp and sesame oil, then topping asparagus with it. No matter how much I make, it's never enough!

General fyi: sesame oil and toasted sesame oil are different and they are not interchangeable. Sesame oil is neutral flavored and has a smoke point of around 400F. It would work for the vegetable oil. Toasted sesame oil is fragrant with a low smoke point. You shouldn't cook things in it, but a small amount added at the very end would be great. I would add it off the heat to keep as much of the flavor as possible. You can tell them apart from the smell and color.

it's diamond crystal kosher salt, which is less "salty" then other salts due the size and shape of the crystals. if you have morton kosher salt, use half as much. if you only have table salt, use 1/4 or less...and try kosher salt :) (i make a recipe that's sort of adjacent to this one that doesn't use any salt, but uses 2T of soy sauce for 1/4c of oil.) it's also important to remember this is a condiment - you aren't consuming the entire batch in one go.

Be careful not to overcook the onions or else they harden when the oil cools to become somewhat bitter chunks (rather than crispy bites) that degrade the overall flavor of the sauce.

very good! I used dried shallot since I didnt have dried mince onion on hand, also added sliced fresh garlic (about 4 cloves) just because I like garlic chips in my chili crisp (I added it during the onion step to get it to brown). Really liked how quickly this came together, will make again and again!

You forgot the msg. Seriously this needs msg.

Currently on my 3rd batch and making more for holiday gifts. Tweaks so far: *be careful not to over-toast the onion at first, or it will be bitter by the time you’re done mixing and sizzling the remaining ingredients. *used dried medium heat NM green chile, which has a nice fruity element and blooms well in the oil. *Reduce the onion by a bit and make up the difference with some quality dehydrated garlic. *pre-toast the sesame seed as it doesn’t get toasted enough in the short time.

Brandi, you ask "Could I use a different oil?" Vegetable oil is a pretty broad category from which to choose. I assume vegetable oil doesn't mean the awful (imho) stuff like Wesson, etc. Some chili crisp recipes specify "...or peanut oil". So that's a possibility. I will likely try neutral oil like avocado oil or grapeseed oil as first pass. But I'm guessing a good quality canola would work too (although I don't ever use it).

Sesame oil has a very low smoke point and is usually added in at the end of cooking (off the heat) or used cold. I've seen toasted sesame oil added at the end for flavor other chili oils, so in your case, I would add the sesame oil at the very end to retain the flavor. It's also very strong in flavor, I would use a smaller amount and increase after tasting.

Someone mentioned Sohla’s recipe from Serious Eats. That’s a good recipe but I appreciate that this recipe is easy in a pinch. The serious eats recipe can take hours. Next time I will add another 1/4 cup oil to this recipe. I like garlic in chili crisp but you have to be careful with fresh garlic because the moisture can cause the sauce to spoil faster. I added a dash of MSG and five spice powder to this recipe.

I'm seeing peoples comments about adding the sesame oil at the end ? Where does this recipe call for sesame oil ? I don't see it.

I didn’t have granulated onion, but it was present in my everything bagel mix, so…you see where I’m going. I should have left out the salt (since the bagel mix had salt), but dang, this stuff is good and spicy!

Try adding star anise and let it sit and marinate for a while. Heaven!