Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with

chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...

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 encompasses the numerous cuisines originating from China, as well as overseas cuisines created by the Chinese diaspora. Because of the Chinese diaspora and historical power of the country, Chinese cuisine has influenced many ot ...

, Southeast Asian cuisine, and elsewhere. It is particularly popular in western Chinese cuisines such as

Sichuan cuisine Sichuan cuisine, alternatively romanized as Szechwan cuisine or Szechuan cuisine (, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), is a style of Chinese cuisine originating from Sichuan Province. It has bold flavours, particularly the pungency and spicin ...

Hunan cuisine Hunan cuisine, also known as Xiang cuisine, consists of the cuisines of the Xiang River region, Dongting Lake and western Hunan Province in China. It is one of the Eight Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine and is well known for its hot and spi ...

Guizhou cuisine Guizhou cuisine, or Qian cuisine, consists of cooking traditions and dishes from Guizhou Province in southwestern China. Guizhou cuisine shares many features with Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, especially in bringing the sensation of sp ...

, and

Shaanxi cuisine Shaanxi cuisine, or Qin cuisine, is derived from the native cooking styles of Shaanxi Province and parts of northwestern China. Description Shaanxi cuisine makes elaborate use of ordinary materials, and is best known for its noodles and lamb/mu ...

where it is used as an ingredient in cooked dishes as well as a condiment. It is sometimes used as a dip for

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and

dim sum Dim sum () is a large range of small Chinese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch. Most modern dim sum dishes are commonly associated with Cantonese cuisine, although dim sum dishes also exist in other Chinese cuis ...

. It is also employed in the Korean Chinese noodle soup dish '' jjamppong''. Chili oil is typically red in color. It is made from vegetable oil, often

soybean oil Soybean oil (British English: soyabean oil) is a vegetable oil extracted from the seeds of the soybean (''Glycine max''). It is one of the most widely consumed cooking oils and the second most consumed vegetable oil. As a drying oil, processed so ...

or sesame oil, although

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

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

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, or

paprika Paprika ( US , ; UK , ) is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers. It is traditionally made from ''Capsicum annuum'' varietals in the Longum group, which also includes chili peppers, but the peppers used for paprika tend to be milder an ...

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

soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

, and sugar. Recipes targeted to Western cooks also suggest other popular oils such as rapeseed,

grapeseed Grape seed oil (also called grapeseed oil or grape oil) is a vegetable oil derived from the Seed, seeds of Vitis vinifera, grapes. A by-product of the winemaking industry, it is typically used for edible applications. Uses Cooking Grape se ...

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 (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

. 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 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 Guizhou (; formerly Kweichow) is a landlocked province in the southwest region of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Guiyang, in the center of the province. Guizhou borders the autonomous region of Guangxi to t ...

. There are also many condiments derived from chili oil, such as chili oil and douchi (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 succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Accessed on: 06 Nov 2022 The most wid ...

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

guava Guava () 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), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

leaves,

leek The leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek ( syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a stem or stalk. The genus ''Alli ...

leaves,

, and

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...

. A new type of product known as was introduced in 2009. 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 from the southern region of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. 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.

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 cuisine () is the cuisine of Turkey and the Turkish diaspora. It is largely the heritage of Ottoman cuisine, which can be described as a fusion and refinement of Mediterranean, Balkan, Middle Eastern, Central Asian and Eastern Eur ...

. Turkish dumpling ''mantı'' is served with chili infused oil poured over the garlic yogurt sauce. The oil is prepared with mixing

chili paste Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers. Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces. ...

() 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, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...

, chili flakes or powder, dried mint and

cumin Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

Strained yogurt Strained yogurt, Greek yogurt, yogurt cheese, sack yogurt, or kerned yogurt is yogurt that has been strained to remove most of its whey, resulting in a thicker consistency than normal unstrained yogurt, while still preserving the distinctive so ...

is also topped with sizzling oil infused with dried hot chili peppers. This dish is called ''

atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

'' in Turkish and typically served as a

meze Meze or mezza (, ) is a selection of small dishes served as appetizers in the Levant, Turkey, Greece, the Balkans, the Caucasus and Iran. It is similar to Spanish tapas and Italian antipasti. A mezze may be served as a part of a multi-course me ...

References

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