What Is Chile oil and How Can I Use It?
Here's everything worth knowing about chile oil and how to pick it, what it is, how to store it, and what to use instead, plus 9 recipes to cook tonight.
Key Points
- Chile oil is the same condiment as hot chili pepper oil: neutral oil infused with dried red chilies.
- Use it as a finishing drizzle over noodles, dumplings, or soup, added off the heat.
- Cooking it hard scorches the chili solids and turns them bitter, so add it late.
- See the hot chili pepper oil page for styles, substitutes, and full storage details.
What is chile oil?
Chile oil is neutral oil infused with dried red chilies, the same condiment most cooks know as hot chili pepper oil. The spelling shifts with the recipe, but the jar is the same: deep red, hot, often carrying toasted flakes and aromatics in the sediment.
It is a finishing touch, not a frying fat. Drizzle it over noodles, dumplings, fried rice, or a bowl of soup at the very end, where the heat and fragrance stay bright.
Using Chile Oil
Add it off the heat. Cook chile oil hard and the chili solids scorch and turn bitter, so a swirl on a finished plate beats stirring it in early. Stir the jar first if it has sediment, since most of the savory depth settles at the bottom.
For full details on styles, Sichuan ma la heat, substitutes, and storage, see hot chili pepper oil. The notes there apply directly to this jar.
A quick swap in a pinch: warm neutral oil with red pepper flakes over low heat, or stir a little hot pepper sesame oil into a sauce when you only need the burn.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 智利油
- British (UK) term
- Chile oil
- en français
- huile chile
- en español
- aceite de Chile
Recipes using chile oil
There are 9 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Mama D's Sweet Dragon’s Breath Stir Fry
This stir fry is sweet and as fiery as you want to make it with Sriracha sauce. This recipe uses beef, but you could substitute chicken or shrimp. It's quick and easy to make, and is impressively attractive.
Crispy Bean Curd Cubes with Peanut Dipping Sauce
Crispy deep-fried bean curd cubes with a spicy peanut dipping sauce made with roasted peanuts, rice vinegar, cilantro, and chile oil. A quick vegetarian appetizer.
Sesame Rice Noodles
Sesame rice noodles toss soaked vermicelli with sesame oil, chile oil, bean sprouts, scallions, and cilantro. Light, fragrant Chinese-style noodles ready in 20 minutes, served hot or chilled.
Spicy Ginger Sauce (For Pasta)
Spicy ginger sauce for cold pasta or rice with sesame oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, chile oil, fresh ginger, and crunchy vegetables. A no-cook Asian-style dressing ready in 15 minutes.
Shrimp& Vegetable Pasta (Gtkg62A)
A vibrant marinated shrimp and vegetable linguine with bell peppers, Roma tomatoes, broccoli, peas, fresh dill, and a lemon-herb olive oil dressing. Marinate ahead, toss with hot pasta, and serve.
Boiled Pot-Stickers (Shwei Jow)
Vegetarian Chinese boiled dumplings (shwei jow) with handmade wrappers and a tofu, mushroom, and lily bud filling. Served with a soy-vinegar dipping sauce. Makes 24.
Spicy Thai Chicken & Coconut Soup
Fiery Thai chicken coconut soup loaded with seven types of chiles, lemongrass, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms simmered gently in coconut milk and chicken broth.
Mark's Chili Con Carne
This recipe will produce a notably hot chili. But there are plenty of points where you can modify the heat level. You can substitute a bell or poblano pepper for the fresh hot peppers, substitute olive oil for the chile oil, and adjust or eliminate the hot sauce and/or cayenne pepper.
Eggplant with Spicy Meat
Chinese-style eggplant stir-fry with spicy ground pork, chile oil, hoisin, soy sauce, and Chinese black vinegar, finished with a cornstarch glaze. Ready in 20 minutes and deeply savory.
