She peeling garlic, me shucking chili pepper seeds, all the while laughing about whether making homemade Chili Crisp Oil would be worth it in the end.

She had presented me with a jar of this fiery condiment several months ago and honestly I hadn’t used it much.

How to Use Chili Crisp Oil

But then I made sticky asian beef meatballs where the combination of sweet and heat was addicting.

Followed by chicken satay meatballs where I replaced sriracha with this crispy garlic oil.

Spooned over a simple bowl of ramen and it will be transformed into a flavor explosion.

And that was all in a matter of three days last week. Once I started using it I couldn’t stop thinking of the next dish that would incorporate Chili Crisp Oil. That’s when I decided we needed to start making our own.

I had arrived to her house with a recipe draft chicken scratched onto a post-it and the basic ingredients in tow. Lots of garlic and shallots, a big bottle of avocado oil, and dried chili peppers from the hispanic market, which by the way is always such a treat. There are so many wonderful ingredients begging for me to discover.

Quick funny story. For most of my life I have been a spicy food wimp. I’ve come around for sure, but even still I rarely use the really hot spices, including crushed red pepper flakes. I’m certain as I browsed through others recipes that somewhere I read to “remove the seeds from the dried pods.” Since we’re making what I know to be a spicy oil I’m thinking that we’re going to use the seeds from these gorgeous dried peppers. She sheepishly admits that she collected the seeds and discarded the outer chilies. Red chilies. The chilies that give Chili Crisp Oil its signature color and crispiness.

In the end, we had a deliciously infused oil, much milder in nature but not at all true Crispy Chili Oil.

Recipe note to self: read the entire recipe before you begin.

The Process

Back to the tried and tested recipe, where you remove the seeds from the pods and discard them.

What’s left are these beautiful red chilies that get ground up in your spice grinder. Then the chiles are rehydrated with hot garlic, shallot, cinnamon stick, and star anise infused oil that has been simmering for nearly an hour.

Not only is the oil infused but after cooling, the crispy garlic and shallot are returned to the oil at the end to bulk up the crunch factor (and flavor).

Chili Crisp Oil Ingredients

For our Chili Crisp Oil, to the ground chili pods we added smoked paprika, toasted sesame seeds, Szechuan peppercorns (another funny story…they’re not really peppers), anchovy paste, and salt.

This recipe allows you to get creative according to your taste and preference.

Oil – Starting with the oil, a nice neutral oil works well, like avocado, grape seed, vegetable, peanut.

Peppers – For the peppers, you can choose a dried variety from the hispanic market like we did (we used mostly Arbol Chili and Chile Japones, with a handful of Guajillo Chilies). Or you can use crushed red pepper flakes, fresh peppers like Serrano or a combination.

Spices – You can use smoked paprika or regular paprika or cumin or another favorite spice.

Nuts/Seeds – We chose toasted sesame seeds, but you could use peanuts or soy nuts to add additional crunch.

Szechuan Peppercorns – The Szechuan Peppercorns seemed to be included in most every recipe I read, however once I learned that they weren’t actually peppercorns we had no substitution in our first attempt. I did however locate them at Penzeys Spices – so I made the 30 minute drive this morning to pick some up. Another funny story, Penzeys is closed for in-store shopping, they only do curb-side and the website said it could take up to two days to process. So thankfully I was able to locate them at Cost Plus World Market which was nearby.

Umami – Our final ingredient is where this sauce gets its savory umami flavor, the anchovy paste. You can substitute or combine soy sauce, mushroom powder, MSG, ginger, sugar, chili powder.

The hot infused oil is poured through a mesh strainer over the chili flakes and remaining ingredients. The cinnamon sticks and star anise are discarded and the garlic and shallots are cooled, allowing them to crisp up, before returning to the oil.

The Results

I intentionally made this a big batch recipe. If you’re going to go to all this effort, make friends and share the love! I’ll be passing a jar over the fence to Ms. Pat and bringing Shelby a proper jar of red Chili Crisp Oil. You can certainly cut the recipe in half, yielding about 2 cups.

Back to the original question of whether it would be worth the work to make homemade Chili Crisp Oil. I’ve made it two days in a row. So yes, you need to make it too!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram and Facebook! And check out our latest TikTok videos and Pinterest boards too!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Chili Crisp Oil

Once I started using it I couldn’t stop thinking of the next dish that would incorporate Chili Crisp Oil. 

Prep Time 45 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 4 cups avocado oil
• 4 heads garlic about 40-50 cloves
• 4 large shallot
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 star anise
• 4 cups dried chili pods we used mostly arbol chilies and chile japones, with a handful of chile guajillo
• 1 Tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 Tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 Tablespoon anchovy paste
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Peel and thinly slice the garlic and shallot. Add to a pot with the cinnamon sticks, star anise, and oil. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring ocassionally, until the ingredients become a nice deep golden brown. About 35-45 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wearing disposible plastic gloves, remove and discard the seeds and stems from the dried chilies, some remaining seeds are fine. Grind the chili pods in a spice grinder until they are similar in size to crushed red pepper flakes. It's okay if the pieces vary in size.
• Place the ground chilies in a heat proof or metal bowl along with remaining ingredients.
• Once garlic and shallot are browned, pour the oil through a mesh strainer (catching the garlic and shallot) into the bowl with the chilies, stir to combine. Discard the cinnamon sticks and star anise. Allow the garlic and shallot to cool before adding in to the oil mixture.
• Refrigerate in covered jars. Keeps up to three months.

Notes

Yields 4 cups of Chili Crisp Oil.

The post Chili Crisp Oil appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Vietnamese Beef Pho.

Let me just say this about that.  I don’t think I’ve ever delivered so much flavor with so little effort.  When I got home from work I assembled everything I needed, put the broth and seasoning on to simmer, all in about 5 minutes.  I did also pop our beef filet into the freezer, which later helped with getting a nice thin slice.

I was introduced to Pho, a year ago or so, during a Sundays with Shelby outing (thankfully she’s taught me that it’s properly pronounced “fuh” not “fo”).  While the amazing broth captured my attention, being a big time sucker for lots and lots of accoutrements is what was so special about this dish.  I was a bit giddy about building my own bowl of fun.

This dish can easily be made at home.  Infuse beef broth with a tea ball filled with 3 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods, 8 peppercorns, and a piece of ginger for about 30 minutes (low simmer).

You’ll want to serve the hot broth with a good assortment of fresh basil (Thai basil is recommended), fresh mint, scallion, jalapenos, bean sprouts, lime wedges and of course the thin sliced beef.  Let us not forget the noodles.  Here’s where I veered off course a bit.  A classic Pho calls for rice noodles.  I wanted to make this dish on Tuesday.  There were no rice noodles in sight.  I opted for fresh linguine noodles available at my local grocer.  They were just fine.

To serve Vietnamese Beef Pho, I add cooked noodles and bean sprouts into oversized soup bowls.  I add several pieces of very thinly sliced raw beef (you could substitute raw peeled shrimp or have both).  When the hot seasoned broth is poured over the beef it cooks it instantly. I then add my herbs and aromatics and a good squeeze of lime juice.  You can also kick up the heat with a squeeze of Sriracha sauce, but I find the fresh jalapeno slices give me the heat I need.  I’m really enjoying all of the Vietnamese dishes I’ve recreated at home.  Bánh mì‘s (crazy incredible sandwiches loaded with flavor) are next up on my radar.  Enjoy.

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Vietnamese Beef Pho

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the broth

• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 Tbl. fish sauce
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 star anise
• 2 cardamom pods
• 8 peppercorns
• 1 piece of fresh ginger about 1/4-inch thick

For the assembly…

• 1 5 ounce beef tenderloin filet
• 4 ounces rice noodles or fresh linguine cooked according to package instructions
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 lime cut into wedges
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 jalapeno sliced
• a good handful of fresh basil leaves preferably Thai basil
• a good handful of fresh mint leaves

Instructions

To prepare…

• Warm beef broth and fish sauce in a medium sauce pan over medium-low heat. Add cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom pods, peppercorns, and ginger in a spice bag or tea ball. Simmer for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, freeze beef filet wrapped in plastic wrap for 30 minutes, then using sharp knife slice as thinly as possible.
• Prepare noodles according to package instructions, then cool to stop cooking; reserve.
• Assemble all remaining ingredients for serving.

To serve…

• Place 1/2 of the noodles and bean sprouts in two bowls. Serve with hot beef broth, sliced beef, aromatics, and herbs.

Other Vietnamese dishes you might enjoy.

Vietnamese Pork Tenderloin

Grilled Vietnamese Chicken Thighs

The post Vietnamese Beef Pho appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I separated this Tandoori Spice Blend from the Whole Roasted Tandoori Cauliflower post because it’s so versatile it’s worth a post of it’s own.  I can see myself using this in various dishes and thankfully the recipe made enough to for us and to share with Shelby.

I also learned that a coffee grinder is one powerful little gadget.  Yes, the cinnamon sticks go in whole and come out as part of this blend.  Pretty amazing.

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Tandoori Spice Blend

Author Sarah B’s Tandoori Spice Blend

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. chili or cayenne
• 1 Tbl. cardamom ground or seeds
• 4 Tbl. cumin seeds
• 2 Tbl. coriander seeds
• ½ whole nutmeg grated
• 2 tsp. whole cloves
• 2-3 cinnamon sticks
• 2 Tbl. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbl. paprika

Instructions

• Place all ingredients except for turmeric and paprika in a spice mill, mortar and pestle or coffee grinder. Grind until powder. Add turmeric and paprika. Store in a glass jar away from light and heat. Will keep for up to six months.

The post Tandoori Spice Blend appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I made scrumptious Pistachio-Chai muffins yesterday afternoon.  I sat down at my computer this morning, muffin by my side, to write about them.  I didn’t get two sentences in before I was stuck.  How do I describe the flavor of Chai Tea?  I love it.  I’ve had it many times since Shelby first introduced it to me several years ago.  I know there’s cinnamon, I think there may be ginger and clove, but it’s depth of flavor is far more than that.

Perhaps a little Spice Exploration is in order.  And so I did what I do….read at least a dozen Chai Tea recipes, researched the origin of Chai, and had a quick geography lesson.  What I’ve learned from this mini-research session is that Chai Tea blends are as unique to South Asian cuisine as are Curry Powders.

After doing all the research for my muffin post, there was only one thing left to do…make Homemade Chai Tea.  I followed a basic recipe from Whole Foods and only adapted it slightly to create a fuller more bold flavored tea.  Delicious and ever so perfect with a nice warm Pistachio-Chai Muffin.

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Homemade Chai Tea Latte

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author adapted from Whole Foods

Ingredients

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 cardamom pods
• 4 peppercorns
• 1 cube crystallized ginger or 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 single-serve black tea tea bags
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbl. brown sugar
• 2 cups water

Instructions

• Place cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, peppercorns, and ginger in a small pot with two cups of water. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to steep for an additional 10 minutes.
• Return pot to heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add tea and cover. Let steep for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discard solids. Return liquid to pot, add in milk and brown sugar. Heat over low 1-2 minutes until hot. Pour into mugs to serve.

The post Homemade Chai Tea Latte appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

A couple years ago we began what’s now a weekly ritual of cooking a whole chicken.  Not only do we enjoy a mouth-watering chicken dinner each week, but we then turn bones into broth, and broth into amazing soups and stews.  It was B who first discovered Chicken in Milk by Jamie Oliver.  In an attempt to change it up each week (Ooo I like that…the “Chicken Change Up”) he began to read endless websites searching for new and interesting whole chicken recipes.  There are a ton of them to try….but none that got our attention quite like this Chicken in Milk recipe.

Begin with a 4-5 lb. whole chicken, seasoned well with sea salt & freshly cracked pepper.  In a snug-fitting heavy pot, brown the chicken on all sides in butter and olive oil, until it is golden all over.  Then add the incredible ingredients: lemon zest, cinnamon stick, fresh sage leaves, garlic cloves, and the star of the show….the milk.

The original recipe calls for baking the chicken uncovered, but that just goes against all our chicken in a pot instincts.  So we started this guy uncovered for 30 minutes and then put the lid on to finish for the final hour.  A covered pot encourages beautiful juices which in this case enhanced this fantastic rich sauce.  The lemon juice tends to split the milk, so if little milk curds bother you just strain before serving.  The first time we made this we strained it, haven’t bothered since….it’s simply delicious straight from the pot. 

Be sure to serve with a nice scoop of mashed potatoes (or mashed cauliflower)…with a well in the middle for a ladle of sauce….that you can dip your chicken in or your spoon.  Can you tell I’m reliving this amazing dinner as I write?!  It’s been three days since we had this chicken and as I type this post I promise you the aromas and flavors are still with me…Yum!

And as a bonus, I must share that last night….I was brilliant.  Sitting in our fridge was that snug-fitting heavy pot.  Inside it was a partially picked chicken resting in a pool of milk sauce.  This is where the brilliant part comes in.  Can you say….Chicken & Dumplings.  With very little effort I turned Chicken in Milk leftovers into the most scrumptious Chicken & Dumplings.  We will never have one without the other again.

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Chicken in Milk

To quote Jamie Oliver, Chicken in Milk is “a slightly odd, but really fantastic combination that must be tried.”

Course Entree

Author Jamie Oliver

Ingredients

• 1 4-5 lb. whole chicken
• Sea salt & freshly cracked pepper
• 2 Tbl. butter
• 2 Tbl. olive oil
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
• zest of 2 lemons
• 10 garlic cloves
• 8-10 fresh sage leaves
• 4 cups whole milk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• In a snug-fitting pot melt butter & olive oil over medium heat.
• Add chicken browning on all sides.
• Remove from heat.
• Remove chicken and pour off excess oil.
• Return chicken to pot with all remaining ingredients.
• Cook chicken uncovered for 30 minutes, basting with liquid once or twice.
• Then cover for an additional hour or until chicken is registered done on an instant read thermometer.

Notes

Turn the leftover chicken and milk broth into scrumptious Chicken & Dumplings.

The post Chicken in Milk appeared first on Lemony Thyme.