As you’ve undoubtedly seen, we’ve returned, friends, to the mystical realm of Chinese condiments—i.e. SAUCE. Now that we’ve conquered the elusive Homemade Chili Oil and Ginger Scallion Oil (I believe the terms “elixir of life” and “condiment of the gods” were bandied about by some…), we can move on to more complicated and lesser known sauces. One such concoction is Chiu Chow sauce, which, in a nutshell, is chili oil gone hog wild. Those folks in Chiu Chow China really know what they’re doing!
Developing This Recipe
First, I should say that recipes for Chiu Chow chili sauce are rather limited. A quick Google search rendered relatively few findings—just a handful of variations that left me less than satisfied. So, I turned to a key source in any home cook’s arsenal—the label on the store-bought version.
Our gold standard for study? Lee Kum Kee’s version (if you’re just too lazy to read on, you can buy a jar here). A close study of various ingredients—some more chemical than others—brought me back to a core list of ingredients…
The most vital of those ingredients is the Golden Goose Egg Secret #1 of making delicious Chiu Chow sauce at home: garlic. Lots and lots of it—enough to ward off potential dates within a 10-mile radius. Enough to scare the vampires out of your kids’ nightmares. Yes. That much.
Golden Goose Egg Secret #2 of making delicious Chiu Chow sauce at home is that the key salt component and distinctive flavor profile comes from the addition of soy sauce. Shockingly unorthodox, I know, but it adds that signature dark color and rich, umami flavor.
The New Number 1 Condiment
It’s gotten to the point that Sarah and I have split into 2 sauce factions—Sarah remains determinedly loyal to “lady sauce” our old standby, whereas I have cast caution to the wind and pledged allegiance to this amazingly delicious, garlicky, spicy Chiu Chow oil.
For long-time readers of our blog, yes, this sauce is THAT powerful. “The lady” is no longer my number one main homie. It’s this delightful concoction of garlic, chili, and soy.
I think that by now I’ve probably convinced you of it’s awesomeness, so let’s get started, shall we?
Recipe Instructions
Slice the fresh chili peppers thinly. Place into a mortar and pestle along with 2 teaspoons salt. Grind and mix thoroughly with the pestle. You don’t need to form a paste, just break down the peppers slightly.
This is my shortcut for salt-preserved chilies. I’m not really sure if it actually approximates salt-preserved chilies, but it does add really great spice and texture! Set aside and prepare the rest of your ingredients.
Mince the garlic. I used a garlic press; a food processor also works well. Then again, nothing wrong with old-fashioned elbow grease!
Heat ½ cup of your oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic. Stir and let fry gently until the garlic turns golden yellow in color. However, it should NOT become crisp or fry intensely at all.
You can turn the heat up and down between medium-low and medium-high to slow or expedite the process as need be. If you want to be more cautious about it, the ideal heat should be between 225 to 250 degrees F and you can use a candy thermometer to monitor the oil temperature.
When the garlic is ready (about 30 minutes later, give or take 10 minutes depending on how cautious you’re being), add the salted chilies. Stir and let fry gently for another 5-10 minutes, again watching closely so as not to burn the oil and spices.
Next, add the last ¾ cups of oil to the saucepan to heat through. Too much oil early on in the process makes it more difficult to evenly fry the garlic and chilies, which is why we started with only 1/2 cup.
Now add your Sichuan chili flakes and sugar. Stir to combine.
Finish off with 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, and you’ve got a delicious jar of homemade chiu chow oil! (Feel free to re-season with up to a teaspoon of additional salt if needed. You may want to wait until it’s cooled first to get a more accurate read on the flavor.)
Transfer to a clean jar. In our experience, the sauce stores well at the top/back of the refrigerator (the coldest part) for a good 2-3 months. And, of course, always dip into it with a clean spoon/chopsticks to preserve it. But we’re betting it doesn’t last past the 2-week mark!
Homemade Chiu Chow Chili Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 15 fresh chili peppers (e.g., Thai bird's eye chilies but adjust to taste / pepper type) (thinly sliced)
- 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 2 heads garlic (peeled)
- 1¼ cups neutral oil (like vegetable or canola)
- 1 cup Sichuan chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
Instructions
- Slice the fresh chili peppers thinly. Place into a mortar and pestle along with 2 teaspoons salt. Grind and mix thoroughly with the pestle—you don't need to form a paste, just break down the peppers slightly. This is my shortcut for salt-preserved chilies. I'm not really sure if it actually approximates salt-preserved chilies, but it does add really great spice and texture! Set aside and prepare the rest of your ingredients.
- Mince the garlic. I used a garlic press; a food processor also works well. Then again, nothing wrong with old-fashioned elbow grease!
- Heat ½ cup of your oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic. Stir and let fry gently until the garlic turns golden yellow in color. However, it should NOT become crisp or fry intensely at all. You can turn the heat up and down between medium-low and medium-high to slow or expedite the process as need be. If you want to be more cautious about it, the ideal heat should be between 225 to 250 degrees F and you can use a candy thermometer to monitor the oil temperature.
- When the garlic is ready (about 30 minutes later, give or take 10 minutes depending on how cautious you're being), add the salted chilies. Stir and let fry gently for another 5-10 minutes, again watching closely so as not to burn the oil and spices.
- Next, add the last ¾ cups of oil to the saucepan to heat through. Too much oil early on in the process makes it more difficult to evenly fry the garlic and chilies, which is why we started with only 1/2 cup.
- Now add your chili flakes and sugar. Stir to combine. Finish off with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, and you've got a delicious jar of homemade chiu chow oil! (Feel free to re-season with up to a teaspoon of additional salt if needed. You may want to wait until it's cooled first to get a more accurate read on the flavor.)
- Transfer to a clean jar. In our experience, the sauce stores well at the top/back of the refrigerator (the coldest part) for a good 2-3 months. And, of course, always dip into it with a clean spoon/chopsticks to preserve it. But we're betting it doesn't last past the 2-week mark!
Tips & Notes:
nutrition facts
I found that there is NO way for the garlic to not overcook and burn at an oil temperature of 225 or even less for 30 minutes, even the minimum 20 minutes. At less than that temperature, the garlic was starting to burn after 13 minutes. I have a very good thermometer which I kept in the pot, so I knew the temp at all times. I ended up adding the rest of the ingredients at a much lower temp because I didn’t want the garlic to burn. I have no idea if it tastes like it’s supposed to taste, but the garlic flavor is definitely ‘toasted’.
Hi! Is sichuan chili flake the same as sichuan peppercorn ? I can only find sichuan pepper in Australia
Sichuan peppercorns are not the same as chili flakes. Sichuan peppercorns resemble dark brown/black peppercorns and are a bit smaller. They produce a floral/pine resinous taste as well as giving a numbing sensation to the tongue.
Sichuan chili flakes are ground up red (Sichuan) chilies
Hi!! Long story, but we lived in Japan for the last two years, and returned to the US abruptly in March.
Our favorite restaurant near our house was a small
Family run Chinese restaurant. They didn’t speak any English, and our Japanese / Chinese was not good. But the food was amazing.
On the table, next to the soy sauce and vinegar, was a glass container with a spoon. It had a version of chili oil, but almost seemed to have ground pork or some other finely ground meat in it. It was AMAZING. But it didn’t seem to need refrigeration. I’ve looked all over the internet and can’t find anything like it. And we’ve left now. Any idea what this may have been? It’s difficult to see, but in one photo here you can see off to the right hand side of the food.
https://s.tabelog.com/aichi/A2301/A230107/23010288/dtlrvwlst/B430290636/
Thanks for any insight!
Hi! Have you ever tried this recipe with pouring boiling oil over the rest of the ingredients? Or do you feel it’s not garlicky enough that way?
Hi Caroline, that would result in less of a caramelized flavor, and would be a sharper relish almost with a stronger raw garlic flavor. No harm in trying on a small quantity to see if you like it though! I should add that that kind of chili oil would likely spoil faster too.
Hey, I’ve heard you’re not supposed to put garlic into chili oil because it can cause botulism. However in this recipe you fry and keep the garlic in the oil, is it actually safe to keep? I read so much conflicting information.
Thanks!
Cooking/ frying kills the bacteria that causes Botulism.
Hey, doing more research killing all the spores is very dependent on what you’re cooking. You need to keep a pretty consistent temp of 250F anywhere from 20 to 100 minutes for maximum removal.
There is no guarantee you’re killing all the spores which are the real danger when you’re keeping something with low acidity like this. I think it should be fine if you’re not keeping it for long periods, 3 weeks+, but it’s not risk free.
Hi Mathew, We keep the sauce in the refrigerator for months, and have never had any issues with it, but we are strict about using clean spoons to take out the sauce.
Hello Kaitlin, Thank you for all these recipes and I really need it to copy and make. By the way, do you also have a recipe of Zusao Chili Sauce? Or is that the same with Chili Chow? Thank you so much in advance❤️🙏
Hi there, yes, I think you are thinking of Chiu Chow! I hope this is what you are looking for.
This recipe is brilliant.
I am admittedly a bit of a coward when it comes to cooking new things (I got scared of trying to cook your homemade chilli oil, too many options for this wuss) , but love spice/garlic so this one with it’s straight forward recipe list hit the spot.
In this case, I probably used dried chilli flakes that were closed to Kirkland than to proper Sichuan chili flakes and it still turned out great (the finish might be just a little bit coarser but meh, still good).
To complete my sacrilege, I added the finished product to smoky barbecue sauce for a pizza base and it was delicious.
10/10, will make again, wish me luck with the Mapo Tofu.
Yum! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. You’re definitely ready for more recipes! The Mapo is an excellent choice. You’ll slay.
I love this recipe and make a batch every month. Many thanks!!
Ingredients converted to metric:
15 fresh chili peppers, thinly sliced, about 30 g
10 g salt
50 g minced garlic
250 g soybean oil
75 g Szechuan chili flakes
13 g sugar
20 g soy sauce
Thanks, Madu!! Chiu Chow a day keeps the doctor away? Probably not, but we like the sentiment anyways.