Chili oil is a

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

made from

vegetable oil Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of edible plants. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed ...

that has been infused with

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

s. Different types of oil and hot peppers are used, and other components may also be included. It is commonly used in

Chinese cuisine Chinese cuisine comprises cuisines originating from Greater China, China, as well as from Overseas Chinese, Chinese people from other parts of the world. Because of the Chinese diaspora and the historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine ...

, Mexico, Italy, and elsewhere. It is particularly popular in

, especially western Chinese cuisines, such as Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine, Guizhou cuisine, and Shaanxi cuisine, where it is used as an ingredient in cooked dishes, as well as as a condiment. It is sometimes used as a dip for

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

and dim sum. It is also employed in the Korean Chinese

noodle soup Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as ...

dish '' jjamppong''. A closely related condiment in Chinese cuisine is chili crisp, which contains edible chunks of food and chilis in oil. Chili oil is typically red in color. It is made from vegetable oil, often soybean oil or sesame oil, although

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

or other oils may be used. Other spices may be included, such as

Sichuan pepper Sichuan pepper (, also known as Sichuanese pepper, Szechuan pepper, Chinese prickly ash, Chinese pepper, Mountain pepper, and ''mala'' pepper, is a spice commonly used in Sichuan cuisine in China, Bhutan and in northeast India. It is called mej ...

, garlic, or

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

. Commercial preparations may include other kinds of oil, water, dried garlic,

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, and sugar. Recipes targeted to Western cooks also suggest other popular oils, such as rapeseed, grapeseed or peanut, and any dried or fresh chili peppers. The solids typically settle to the bottom of the container in which it is stored. When using chili oil, the cook or diner may choose how much of the solids to use; sometimes only the oil is used, without any solids. Chili oil is easy to prepare, and is also commercially available in glass jars or bottles.

Varieties and regional use

China

Chili oil has various names in China and comes in many different types depending on the region. It is called ''yóu pō là zǐ'' (油泼辣子, chili pepper splashed with oil) in Shaanxi province and ''là yóu'' (辣油, spicy oil) or ''hóng yóu'' (紅油, red oil) in

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

. Among those names the most popular one is ''là jiāo yóu'' (辣椒油, chili pepper oil). In China, chili oil is prepared basically by pouring hot vegetable oil slowly on chili pepper powder or chopped chili pepper. Many other ingredients can be added alongside to enrich flavor, such as Chinese black vinegar, minced garlic, dried shrimp, dried ginger skin, sesame seeds, sesame oil, Sichuan peppercorn, cinnamon, star anise and bay leaf. The popular chili oil brand Lao Gan Ma is based on chili oils from

Guizhou ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province , map_caption = Map s ...

. There are also many condiments derived from chili oil, such as chili oil and

douchi ''Douchi'' is a type of fermented and salted black soybean most popular in the cuisine of China, where they are most widely used for making black bean sauce dishes. Shurtleff, W.; Aoyagi, Abr>History of Fermented Black Soybeans (165 B.C. to ...

(豆豉, fermented black soybeans).

Japan

The Japanese variety of Chinese chili oil is known as , used in Japan as a cooking ingredient or as a condiment. It is typically a clear, chili-infused sesame oil, and the chopped chili pepper used is typically red, imparting a reddish tint to the oil. Other ingredients used may include soy oil, corn oil, dried

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

guava Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava '' Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), nativ ...

leaves, leek leaves,

, and turmeric. A new type of product known as was introduced in 2009 and is based on the Chinese chili crisp. It is less spicy-hot, and includes chunks of food, such as fried garlic and fried onion, in the oil.

Italy

The Italian variety of chili oil (''olio di peperoncino'') originates in the southern region of

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

. It is often added to dishes, sauces, salads, or served with cheeses and antipasto. This variety of chili oil uses olive oil as a base and has a unique brine flavor. The peperoncino is a popular food item in Calabria.

Mexico

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

's version is called salsa macha and originates in the state of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. It is variable in composition, consisting of either a neutral oil, like avocado or

, sauteed garlic, and one or more of several different types of chiles, including Chile de Arbol, Chipotle, and Guajillo. Nuts and seeds such as peanuts,

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

, sesame and/or

pumpkin A pumpkin is a cultivar, cultivated winter squash in the genus ''Cucurbita''. The term is most commonly applied to round, orange-colored squash varieties, but does not possess a scientific definition. It may be used in reference to many dif ...

are also added. Sometimes vinegar or sugar are added as well.

Portugal

Portuguese chili oil is made by cold (refrigerated) infusion of dried red chili peppers in

in a tightly capped bottle for one month.

Turkey

Chili and pepper infused oils are used widely as a condiment in Turkish cuisine. Turkish dumpling ''mantı'' is served with chili infused oil poured over the garlic yogurt sauce. The oil is prepared with mixing chili paste () and certain spices and herbs such as

black pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diameter ...

, chili flakes or powder, dried mint and cumin. Strained yogurt is also topped with sizzling oil infused with dried hot chili peppers. This dish is called ''

atom Atoms are the basic particles of the chemical elements. An atom consists of a atomic nucleus, nucleus of protons and generally neutrons, surrounded by an electromagnetically bound swarm of electrons. The chemical elements are distinguished fr ...

'' in Turkish and typically served as a meze.

References

{{Hot_sauces Chinese condiments Dips (food) Japanese condiments Vegetable oils Chili sauce and paste