Chili oil

Chili oil

Alternative names	Hot chili oil, hot oil
Type	Dip
Main ingredients	Vegetable oil, chili peppers
Media: Chili oil

Chili oil
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	辣油, 紅椒油, 紅油, 辣椒油, 紅辣椒油, 油泼辣子
Simplified Chinese	辣油, 红椒油, 红油, 辣椒油, 红辣椒油, 油潑辣子
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin làyóu, hóngjiāo yóu, hóng yóu, làjiāo yóu, hóng làjiāo yóu
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese	ớt sa tế, ớt satế
Thai name
Thai	น้ำมันพริก
RTGS	nam man phrik
Korean name
Hangul	고추기름
Transcriptions Revised Romanization gochu gireum McCune–Reischauer kochu kirŭm
Japanese name
Kanji	ラー油, 辣油
Transcriptions Romanization rāyu

Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with chili peppers. Different types of oil and hot peppers are used, and other components may also be included. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, East and Southeast Asia and elsewhere. Particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine, Hunan cuisine, and Shaanxi cuisine it is used as an ingredient in cooked dishes as well as a condiment. It is sometimes used as a dip for meat and dim sum. 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 or sesame oil, although olive oil or other oils may be used. Other spices may be included such as Sichuan pepper, garlic, or paprika. Commercial preparations may include other kinds of oil, water, dried garlic, soy sauce, 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.

China

Chili oil has various names in China. 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 province. 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. There are also many condiments derived from chili oil, such as Lao Gan Ma, made with chili oil and Douchi (豆豉, fermented black soybeans).

Chili oil can be consumed directly with other food. It is used extensively in cooking all over China especially in Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Hunan cuisine. Like Hóngyóu chāoshǒu (紅油抄手, wonton in red oil) and Dàn dàn Noodles (擔擔麵).

Japan

Taberu rāyu on top of steamed rice

The Japanese variety of Chinese chili oil is known as rāyu (ラー油 or 辣油), 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, ginger, guava leaves, leek leaves, paprika, and turmeric.

A new type of product known as taberu rāyu (食べるラー油 or -辣油, literally, "rāyu for eating") 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. 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 olive oil in a tightly capped bottle for one month.

See also

• Chili sauce
• List of condiments
• List of dips
• XO sauce
• Peperoncino