On a quest... for flavor

October 16, 2018 7:39 AM

I've been on a quest to find a particular kind of chili oil, and I'm having a hard time pinning down exactly what terms to use to buy the right kind, or even find a recipe to make my own.

The type of sauce I've seen has been most frequently spotted in Din Tai Fung restaurants, described as 'chili oil' rather than 'chili sauce' (pic of both here). It's less pulpy/tangy like the Huy Fong chili sauce, and more of a fine-ground smoky chili suspended in a larger volume of oil that absorbs that flavor (like this). Din Tai Fung theoretically sells the chili oil sauce directly, however I don't live anywhere remotely near one and when I've visited they are perpetually sold out of the retail containers. Every now and again I'll see something very similar at Vietnamese restaurants, but it seems rather rare vs the standard sriracha/hoisin/chili sauce array.

Is there a more specific name for this kind of sauce that I could search for to buy or make? I've seen a swath of potential leads online, but without being able to see the sauce direct it's hard to determine which is the right one. I'm about to just buy six different jars and try them all, but figured I'd try to refine my investigation first. Thanks, gourmands!

posted by FatherDagon to Food & Drink (14 answers total)

I have a jar that meets your description well. I’d bet it tastes very similar, and it looks virtually identical to the sample photos.

The label says:
Made in USA
Spicy Chili Oil
Chinese Famous Szechuan Hot Sauce

Only ingredients are red chili, vegetable oil, salt.

Pasting that label into google shopping gets me plenty of hits that look good.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:46 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

Some possible leads from Serious Eats:

Homemade Chili Crisp (add extra oil to get the consistency you want)

Fuchsia Dunlop's Chili Oil

Burnt Garlic-Sesame-Chili Oil for Ramen
posted by slkinsey at 7:48 AM on October 16, 2018

Notwithstanding the above, you should be able to get what you're after by purchasing a bag of coarse-ground Korean chili flakes, putting some into a heatproof bowl, pouring smoking-hot oil over it and allowing it to cool. If you want some traditional extra flavors in your oil from, e.g., Sichuan peppercorns or garlic or cumin or fermented black beans or fried shallots or whatever, you can add those as well.
posted by slkinsey at 7:51 AM on October 16, 2018 [1 favorite]

I’m Chinese, and I love eating the sauce you’re describing on everything. The specific brand that my family uses (and is the best known brand in China) is called Lao Gan Ma. A Chinese grocery store like 99 Ranch will definitely carry it. Here is a link to a listing on Amazon.
posted by hotchocolate at 8:04 AM on October 16, 2018 [3 favorites]

That sounds like Ra-yu (or La-yu depending on where you look). There are a ton of recipes online, but it's pretty easy to find and buy. There is a version with crispy garlic suspended in the oil and I put it on everything.
posted by Alison at 8:10 AM on October 16, 2018

Response by poster: The Laoganma Chili Crisp is similar in texture to what I'm looking for, but is much more garlicy than the straight smoked-chili flavor I'm looking for (I do love it tho!). Laoganma also has a straight 'chili oil' but it seems much chunkier with whole peanuts in as well - if they have some other options I'll check those out as well. Thanks, keep the suggestions coming!
posted by FatherDagon at 8:18 AM on October 16, 2018

I usually make my own (my dad was obsessed with a version that featured fermented black beans which i grew up just referring to "the Condiment(tm)" - chili crisp does appear to be newer name folks of non chinese origin are using, although like that serious eats recipe they generally include a lot more variety of stuff (my most recent batch included a ton of crispy fried shallots and garlic, some whole schezuan peppercorns, and the dried/fermented black soy beans in addition to chilies). I do think it matters where you get your chilies, as you want something with a familiar profile - the korean chilies mentioned upthread are good but i think if you want more oil and less sauce you'd be best served by a finer grind.

Seconding Lao gan ma if you dont want to make your own - they make a bunch of types.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:20 AM on October 16, 2018

oh yeah, forgot to add that sometimes/usually i end up throwing in a bunch of roasted seasame seeds and peanuts too. there is really no reason not to experiment, its not that difficult to make multiple small batches and decide for yourself which inclusions are to your liking and which you can skip.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:22 AM on October 16, 2018

Another vote for the Fuchsia Dunlop recipe upthread, or slkinsey's simplified version. If laoganma has too many ingredients and too much garlic flavor, then it sounds like you're just describing dried chiles in oil — in which case the smokey flavor you're noticing comes from heating the oil and letting the chiles toast in it. The only tricky thing is the timing, which Dunlop's recipe describes nicely. You want the chiles to turn dark red or even brown, but not to go so far as to burn black.
posted by nebulawindphone at 10:17 AM on October 16, 2018

I haven't ever made these myself (though I keep meaning to), but youtuber Mike Chen has done two chili oil tutorials, the original one here and an updated Shaanxi-style one here, that might be worth checking out.
posted by Lyn Never at 10:17 AM on October 16, 2018

I love DTF's chili oil, and will be watching this thread with interest. I've tried several varieties of Lao gan ma, and haven't found any that reproduce DTF's smoky taste, although they are delicious on their own merits. I'm not sure if I've tried the "chili crisp" type linked above. A Chinese friend tells me that the DTF taste is common in China, but couldn't pinpoint the name.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 10:24 AM on October 16, 2018

As a major fan of chilies i think the smokey taste is coming from differences in the chilies and how (much) they are roasted or dried. You could try either buying different varieties of chili flakes to make your own or toasting some proportion of the total amount you intend to use over a medium flame in a dry pan before including it in your chili oil.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:46 AM on October 16, 2018

Yeah it's La-Yu, or chili garlic oil. I used up a bottle of La-Yu pretty quickly so I bought Momoya brand which comes in a bigger container.
posted by capricorn at 12:34 PM on October 16, 2018

I'm local to DTF, and would happily facilitate the acquisition of their oil or my favorite version which is from Luscious Dumplings, which is always in stock. Memail me!
posted by ApathyGirl at 3:28 PM on October 16, 2018