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Home » Recipes

Easy and Spicy Thai Chili Oil Recipe

Jan 21, 2023Last Modified: January 22, 2023

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This page may contain affiliate links. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my link. This post is about an Easy and Spicy Thai Chili Oil Recipe!

A Ball Mason Jar in shadow containing red Thai chili oil with chili flakes.

There are some great chili oils that you can purchase to make almost anything taste better. I am such a fan of Lao Gan Ma's Spicy Chili Crisp (Chinese Sichuan style) and my life changed for the better ever since I discovered it!

But I'd never tried my hand at making my own chili oil until now, and I'm super happy I took the plunge! I decided to try making chili oil Thai style with the BOLD Thai flavors that I love.

This Thai style chili oil is really spicy, and super easy to make. So, if you like hot and spicy foods and want a delicious condiment to fire up your foods, you've got to try this recipe!

Jump to:
  • Why You Will Love This Recipe For Thai Chili Oil!
  • 🥘 Ingredients
  • 🔪 Instructions
  • Some Variations
  • FAQ
  • Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy
  • Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!
  • Easy and Spicy Thai Chili Oil Recipe

Why You Will Love This Recipe For Thai Chili Oil!

You will love this recipe for homemade chili oil because:

  • It's easy! If you've never made your own chili oil before you'll be surprised at how uncomplicated it is to create a delicious chili oil!
  • You'll have a delicious condiment ready to spice up your favorite foods! It's also a great dipping sauce!
  • This Thai chili oil is full of amazing flavors! It's not only spicy hot, but it is also sweet and salty.

Are you ready to give this a try? Then please read on!

🥘 Ingredients

Small bowls filled with vegetable oil, dried chili flakes, shallots, garlic cloves, fish sauce, and palm sugar.

In this recipe I tried to stick with ingredients that are used in Thai cooking. However, I have provided some substitutions for your convenience.

You will only need 6 ingredients to make your Thai chili oil. They are:

  • Dried chili flakes. Look for Thai chili flakes, or you can use other Asian chili flakes, such as Sichuan chili flakes if you prefer. However, it's not recommended to use Italian red chili flakes for this recipe.
  • Shallots
  • Fresh garlic cloves
  • Vegetable oil - you can also sub canola oil if you wish (be sure to select a neutral oil)
  • Fish sauce (naam plaa) - used in Thai cooking to impart a salty flavor to foods. You can sub regular salt for the fish sauce
  • Palm sugar (naamtaan piip) - this sugar comes from the sap of specific types of coconut palm trees and is an essential ingredient in Thai cooking. You can sub light brown sugar for palm sugar
A packet of dried Asian chili flakes and a small bowl containing some of those flakes.
Dried Asian Chilies
A packet of palm sugar and a mortar and pestle with some palm sugar in the mortar.
Palm Sugar

So we are going to aim for a nice balance of flavors including hot, sweet, and salty in this chili oil.

I hope you are as excited to make this as I was!

🔪 Instructions

Begin by placing a small saucepan or skillet on a low heat on your stove. Then add oil and once the oil is warmed, add minced garlic and shallots. Cook the garlic and shallots until they turn brown at low temperature or you may need to turn it to medium-low. This may take up to 30 minutes. You are just aiming for them to turn golden brown. The oil should bubble gently and you'll want to stir from time to time so that these aromatics don't burn.

Sautéed minced shallots and garlic in oil in a skillet.

Once the garlic and shallots have turned golden brown, add the chili flakes, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Stir well to combine and then sauté for a minute.

Sautéed minced shallots and garlic in oil with dried Asian chilies, sugar, and fish sauce in a skillet.
Thai chili oil with dried chilies, oil, sautéed garlic and shallots in a skillet.

If there is not enough oil to your liking, or not enough chili flakes, you can adjust by adding some more. Additionally you can adjust the fish sauce and palm sugar to your personal preference as well.

Allow the chili oil to cool, and then place into an airtight glass jar.

A jar containing Thai Chili oil. There is a spoon with some of the chili oil in the foreground.

Now comes the hard part...trying to make this last more than a few days!

Some Variations

A jar that is mostly in shadow but you can see the top of the jar and above it is a spoon holding Thai chili oil and flakes.

I've intentionally tried to keep this Thai chili oil recipe as easy as possible, with a minimum number of ingredients. However, I encourage you to customize and play around with this recipe!

Here are some recommended ingredients you could add if you wish:

  • Sichuan peppercorns
  • Star anise
  • Cinnamon stick
  • Bay leaves
  • Kaffir lime leaves

The ingredients listed above could be added during the time you are heating the oil to infuse the oil with these wonderful complex flavors. You could then remove them prior to adding the chili flakes, sugar, and fish sauce.

There are so many variations you can create to make a delicious chili oil!

FAQ

How long does Thai chili oil last?

When stored properly in an airtight glass jar in your refrigerator, this Thai chili oil should last around 2-3 months. However because of the presence of fresh garlic and shallots in the oil, it is best consumed within one month to be on the safe side.

Does chili oil spoil?

If your homemade chili oil develops a bad smell or the color changes from red to brown, it is best to discard the chili oil.

What do you eat chili oil with?

Everything! It's great drizzled over rice or noodles, and a great accompaniment to dumplings or spring rolls. Serve it with eggs, or meats, or any food you want to spice up!

Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy

Here are some other recipes for side dishes that you may enjoy:

  • Easy Spicy Chinese Yu Choy
  • Make Your Own Delicious Chinese Black Bean Sauce
  • How To Make Divine Dan Dan Noodles

Join Me On A Fun Food Journey!

If you'd like to come along on this food journey with me, please sign up to get the latest recipes and inspiration for you to expand your food comfort zone! It's an incredible journey, please join me by signing up here.

Cheers!

Grace

A jar that is mostly in shadow but you can see the top of the jar and above it is a spoon holding Thai chili oil and flakes.

Easy and Spicy Thai Chili Oil Recipe

Grace
If you love bold and spicy Thai flavors you will love this Thai Chili Oil! Easy to make and so delicious, it is the PERFECT condiment to spice up all your foods!
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course accompaniment, Condiment
Cuisine Asian, Thai
Servings 15 servings
Calories 151 kcal

Equipment

  • small saucepan or you can use a skillet

Ingredients
  

  • ⅓ cup dried chili flakes I used Thai chili flakes - you can sub other chili flakes but use Asian chilies for this recipe
  • 2 shallots minced; select small or medium sized shallots (around ¾ cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 cup oil I used vegetable oil; you could sub canola oil if you wish
  • 1 ts fish sauce if you prefer a saltier chili oil, you can add extra fish sauce to taste; can sub regular salt
  • 1 ts palm sugar you can sub light brown sugar

Instructions
 

  • Place a small saucepan or skillet on a medium low heat on your stove. Then add oil and once the oil is warmed, add minced garlic and shallots. Cook the garlic and shallots until they turn brown at a medium-low temperature or you may need to turn it to low if the garlic and shallots start to burn. This may take up to 30 minutes. You are just aiming for them to turn golden brown. The oil should bubble gently and you'll want to stir from time to time so that these aromatics don't burn.
    Sautéed minced shallots and garlic in oil in a skillet.
  • Once the garlic and shallots have turned golden brown, add the chili flakes, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Stir well to combine and then sauté for a minute.
    Sautéed minced shallots and garlic in oil with dried Asian chilies, sugar, and fish sauce in a skillet.
  • If there is not enough oil to your liking, or not enough chili flakes, you can adjust by adding some more. Allow the chili oil to cool, and then place into an airtight container (glass jar).
    A jar containing Thai Chili oil. There is a spoon with some of the chili oil in the foreground.

Notes

When stored properly in an airtight glass jar in your refrigerator, this Thai chili oil should last around 2-3 months. However because of the presence of fresh garlic and shallots in the oil, it is best consumed within one month to be on the safe side.  Be sure to use fresh and clean utensils each time you dip into the jar. 
Asian dried chilies should be used in this recipe (not Italian dried chilies). 
If you prefer a saltier chili oil, you can add extra fish sauce to taste.  Additionally if the mixture seems too dry for you, feel free to add a little more oil.
Be sure to keep the heat on low to medium-low when cooking your garlic and shallots, and stir often to prevent them from burning.  We are aiming to get them to turn a nice golden brown, and the oil should be gently bubbling when cooking these aromatics. 

Nutrition

Calories: 151kcalCarbohydrates: 3gProtein: 1gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gSodium: 90mgPotassium: 117mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 1559IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg
Keyword Chili, chili oil, spicy
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About Me

Hi I’m Grace! I'm married and a mom to my fur baby, Toby, and food and travel are two of my greatest passions! Since our bank account does not allow us to travel or eat out as much as we'd like, I decided I would cook delicious meals that could give us a taste of all the places we'd like to go. My goal is to get you in the kitchen, and inspire you to cook and taste delightful meals that will transport you too. Let’s throw some actual travel in from time to time, all with an emphasis on keeping your wallet full and happy as well. Let’s get cooking and let’s start exploring!! I'm excited to be on this journey with you!!

By the way most of these recipes are Toby taste tested and Toby approved!!

Chief Taste Tester Toby

Toby Chief Taste Tester

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