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!
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.
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?
You’ll need:
- 15 fresh chili peppers, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 2 heads of garlic, peeled
- 1¼ cups neutral oil (like vegetable or canola)
- 1 cup Sichuan chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons regular or light soy sauce
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!
- 15 fresh chili peppers, thinly sliced
- 2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
- 2 heads of garlic, peeled
- 1¼ cups neutral oil (like vegetable or canola)
- 1 cup Sichuan chili flakes
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons regular or light soy sauce
- 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 ½ 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!
Jaz says
Just made this recipe because I realised that the oil I buy from the shops is full of preservatives. This tastes amazing and is super hot! I love it. Thanks for creating this recipe:)
Bill says
Thanks Jaz, This chiu chow chili is one of my all time favorites too!
Han says
I made it. Let the garlic bevome a little crispy on pupose. A delicious chili sauce with a little crunchy bite. My philipine family loves it
Judy says
Even compared with our beloved chili oil, I think I like Chiu Chow Chili Sauce better because of the added garlic.
justin scoccia says
Very good recipe but 2-3 months is very unsafe to keep this oil because of botulism, here’s a link from osu university saying that it should only be kept for 4 days but i have also read that the fda is 10 days https://extension.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/documents/8836/sp50701herbsandvegetablesinoil.pdf
Bill says
Hi Justin, food safety is always important! After the chili oil cools, we always store it in the refrigerator. Another important practice is to always use a clean spoon when scooping oil and the pepper flakes out of the jar.
Kelly says
Hi Bill,
Just as Justin mentioned, I think botulism would be a risk in this recipe if keeping longer than 4 days, because of the fresh chillies and fresh garlic. The refrigerator won’t prevent botulism bacteria from growing, and it will grow in the anaerobic environment of the oil. The only way to be safe would be to make it and freeze it in portions to defrost lasting 4 days at a time.
Bill says
Hi Kelly, thanks for the info – your suggestion seems to make good sense!
JERRY TOKAR says
Can I just get your Recipes without 40 pages of comments? I am looking for a great recipe for Making Hot Chili Oil and or Sauce. Yours seemed to be the best .
Many Thanks in advance.
Jerry
Judy says
Hi Jerry, here is the recipe for our Chili Oil.
Joe says
Cut and paste the recipe to your word processor You can now print the recipe without comments.
Devetta says
My youngest buys a similar chili oil from his favourite restaurant. I thought I ‘d make this recipe and see if it compares (I can’t eat chili’s so he’s my taste tester). I have a chili bush but they’re called Firecrackers and much hotter than long chili’s, so I used 7 Firecrackers and 1 teaspoon of salt – the remainder of the recipe is the same. My youngest didn’t wait for it to cool down – the aroma got to him – and he loved it! Said it was tasty, flavoursome and had a sneaky kick which was ‘nice’. 10/10 in this house. Thanks guys for a chili winner!
Kaitlin says
Hi Devetta, wooo! I’m glad this chiu chow stood up to his discerning palate :)
Sjoert says
Hi. Thanks for this recipe, its lovely! But way too much salt, I think half a teaspoon is too much also
Kaitlin says
Salt to taste! :) Keep in mind it’s a condiment, so the concentration of salt is higher, but it all depends on your preferences and how you like to use it.
Sheryl says
Great recipe! My husband grows some sort of hot pepper and this has allowed me to use up all the dried ones in my cabinet as well as one in the garden now. Made half recipe but quickly had to make another batch as we use it on everything—most recently on easy-over eggs. Thank you!
Kaitlin says
Hi Sheryl, sound like you guys have the perfect set up! We love it with eggs too :) Thanks for reading and cooking!
Debbie says
LKK’s Chiu Chow has sesame oil listed in the ingredients. Did you try adding it to your version? Do you have a recommendation as to how much to add?
Kaitlin says
Hi Debbie, we do not include it because it can be overpowering. My advice to you is to add it to taste! When you taste the chiu chow, you can use a little bit of rice or noodle to make sure the flavors are coming across accurately. Cheers! :)
Arno Zeeman says
Hiya,
I just fished making this for the first time and I had to immediately try some of course. And to my surprise it was INCREDIBLY SALTY!! I don’t get why. I got all the exact ingredients. And as an avid cook I use measurement spoons, scales and everything to really work precise. The only I thing I cut down on a little bit was the salt…. The soy sauce sauce I used was pearl bridge superior quality light sauce and for the Sichuan pepper ‘prickly ash’ I bought a brand called ‘baiweizhai’. I used 85 grams as it said I needed to in the metric system. Any idea why it tasted so incredibly salty?? Will I just need to let it settle for some time? after i added to Sichuan pepper I only stirred it for a few more minutes since that wasn’t really specified for how long. Apart from the beer tasting superb after one bite I had to eat some sugar because the saltiness was really overpowering. Any ideas of how, what ,why etc.??
Kind regards and still lots of appreciation and thanks for a beautiful food blog from the Netherlands!
Judy says
Hi Arno, not sure what kind of salt you used. We used sea salt. Also, be mindful that this is a condiment. It should be salty.
Dan says
Please be aware that light soy has considerably more sodium in it than regular soy. Unlike “low sodium soy” light soy is lighter in color and higher in salinity, for use in dishes when you do not wish to darken them with the color of regular soy.
Judy says
All very good points, Dan!
Audrey Motlhamme says
Wow delicious my lady
Well done
Judy says
Thank you, Audrey, glad that you’ve tried it. ^_^