Adding chili oil to your recipes means more heat and flavor. But if you find no hot chili oil for your next recipe, no worry. You can substitute chili oil in many ways and even can make your own to end up things heavenly delicious and a bit spicy. But how? Well, that’s what you are going to learn ahead.
Hot chili oil worth spot in your pantry next to the must-stay condiments such as kewpie mayo, mustard paste, and chili garlic sauce. Its versatility knows no bounds across continental cuisines.
You can make a Uber spicy base for sauteing veggies or meat cuts, give a recipe finish to your hearty meals, prepare an aesthetic marinade, salsa, salad dressings, and super delicious dip using hot chili oil.
Not limited to this, drizzle it over pasta, risotto, noodles, dumplings, and savory wraps, or just over anything. It seems that the usage profile of chili oil goes on and on. So, you must know the secret to hot chili oil recipe or make a good replacement to end every recipe with a strong kick of generous heat.
Pick Up The Best Substitute For Chili Oil!
You will bump to a lot more options when come to substituting chili oil. Can you pick up the best one for your next recipe? If not, the coming section is for you.
Avoid the hassle of going through each and every alternative to find which works well for you, apply the given easy-peasy formula instead. Consider the following factors before making a final replacement and you will never go wrong anyway.
Ingredient Nature: Chili oil is as simple as sauteing and steeping dried chili in any neutral oil. So, the alternative option with simpler and closer ingredients to chili oil truly goes a long way. Similarly, the more complex ingredient profile delivers flavor far from the original.
Spice Level: Chili oil packs a balanced punch of heat together with nutty flavor notes. The milder options can not complement the recipe ingredients instead of chili oil yet you can round off the heat. So, going for spicier substitutes is always better to meet the heat level of chili oil.
Where To Use: Determine your intent for searching an alternative to chili oil. Whether you are going to make a cooking base, spicy marinade, topping, dressing, or anything else using hot chili oil, the corresponding substitute will be different.
Chili Oil Substitute
Not all the given alternatives can work great for your every recipe. If one can replace chili oil in cooking dishes then the other can be a good dipping sauce or a tasty dressing. So, pick up the one depending on your coming recipe to end up things deliciously.
1. Cayenne Pepper Oil – The Best Pick
Cayenne pepper is a spicier chili used to add generous heat to recipes. Spicy sauces and dips often hire cayenne pepper to make things extremely hot and flavorful. But how can these peppers substitute chili oil? Well, it’s simple.
Heat vegetable oil and dried cayenne peppers or cayenne pepper powder to get a spicy sub that is also known as hot chili oil. In other words, it’s an alternative that can go a long way.
It can replace chili oil in every cooking recipe without kicking off the overall flavor.
2. Chili Paste – Easy Substitution
Mexican or Chinese food lovers always have chili paste on hand. It comes in a variety of flavors to satiate your craving and spice preferences and therefore a great chili oil substitute.
You can also make a fresh batch by grinding hot peppers together with a splash of vinegar or vegetable oil.
If extreme heat is not welcomed to your recipes, hire milder Chile peppers to make a paste wonderfully flavorful.
Store-bought chili paste works best as a dip or a marinade. However, if you blend chili paste with any neutral oil, it can be a good cooking base like traditional hot chili oil.
Which One Is Best To Buy? Thai Kitchen Roasted Red Chili Paste is healthy, gluten-free, and hot enough to spice up your soups, curries, stir-fried recipes, and many more.
3. Hot Sauce – Similarly Spicy
Hot sauce is another comparable chili oil substitute in terms of flavor and spice level. The ingredients are hot Chiles, salt, and distilled vinegar.
Although it lacks the oily nature of chili oil, hot sauce is similarly versatile and handy in the culinary world. It’s a great serving sauce, dipping sauce, spicy topping, and savory dressing.
To make a cooking base or a recipe finishing ingredient, all you need to do is pour oil into hot sauce and it’s done. The best oil and hot sauce ratio is 2:1.
Which One Is Best To Buy? Truff Hot Sauce is a perfectly spicy, gluten-free, and vegan sauce you can use instead of chili oil in your cooking dishes and marinades.
4. Chili Flakes – Best For Cooking
Chili flakes are coarsely cracked peppers you can use in many creative ways. So, if you are currently running short on chili oil but have chili flakes on hand, it’s great.
All you need to do is sauté chili flakes with vegetable oil. Your easy and simple homemade chili oil is ready to make things conventionally tasty and spicy.
Use it in cooking recipes, marinades, and dressings as a handy chili oil alternative.
Which One Is Best To Buy? Dry Calabrian Chili Pepper Flakes pack enough heat to spice up your foods similar to chili oil.
Garlic-Based Chili Oil Substitute
Here is something worth trying for garlic lovers. And if you are one of them, it’s a great way of adding a garlic punch to the recipes following the hot spicy kick.
In short, there’s no harm in switching chili oil with chili garlic oil. Read ahead to find out the option relevant to your coming savory treat.
5. Chili Garlic Oil
Chili garlic oil is a closer alternative to classic hot chili oil with an additional punch of garlic. It’s similarly versatile, flavorful, and spicy as the original ingredient. So, it’s time to turn your neutral or bland recipes into flavorful and umami treats.
Chili garlic oil works best as a topping for chicken, sushi, and tofu. It pairs well with noodles, pasta, and salad as a spicy condiment.
You can get it from any local grocery store or make your own. Simply, toss your preferred chiles and garlic powder into vegetable oil and sauté for a while.
Which One Is Best To Buy? S&B Chili Garlic Oil is crunchy, spicy, and garlicky condiment great for topping, salad dressing, cooking, and many more.
6. Hot Crispy Oil
Hot crispy oil contains vegetable oil, fried garlic, and chili peppers and overall offers a unique combination of heat and flavor. Its oily nature and similar spicy flavor with a garlic hint make things similarly delectable like hot chili oil.
Rather than making a cooking base, hot crispy oil substitute chili oil in topping pizza, pasta, noodles, and salads. In addition, spoon hot crispy crunchy oil over scrambled eggs, sandwiches, rice, meat, and seafood, and enjoy.
Which One Is Best To Buy? Hot Crispy Oil Original uses extra virgin oil, shallots, garlic chunks, and chili peppers to give a deep flavor to your spicy foods. It’s gluten-free, vegan, and naturally-prepared condiment great for cooking, dressing, dipping, and topping.
7. Gochujang
Gochujang is not overly spiced with garlic yet offers umami garlicky undernotes together with a combination of sweet and spicy flavor.
The texture is rich and thicker than chili oil. So, what can you do? Yes, you are right. Blend gochujang with any oil to achieve the desired consistency and flavor.
Gochujang can spice up your marinades, salads, pasta dishes, grilled veggies, and many more. Find out if gochujang can replace chili garlic sauce or not?
Which One Is Best To Buy? O’Food Gochujang is a hot, versatile, fermented, and vegetarian chili paste you can get to spic up marinades, soups, and stir-fried dishes.
8. Sriracha Sauce
Sriracha sauce contains chili peppers, garlic, sugar, and distilled vinegar as primary ingredients. The texture is not as thicker as gochujang whereas the flavor is quite comparable.
Sriracha sauce can also substitute chili oil in most of the recipes after a bit alteration. Fix the consistency and flavor of sriracha sauce by adding oil to it.
The altered oily version of sriracha can season your meat dishes, grilled veggies, roasted potatoes, and noodles.
Which One Is Best To Buy? Huy Fong Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce is evenly spicy, gluten-free, and works best in your fried recipes, noodles, soups, and pasta.
Homemade Chili Oil Recipe
Making homemade chili oil for your next recipe is as simple as heating chili peppers in oil and subsequent chile steeping. You can make your own replacement using the fewest ingredients in no time.
Things you need are chili peppers and oil. However, it solely depends on your beloved recipe and flavor specifications and which type of ingredients work well for you.
Put your hands on any neutral oil to make perfect chili oil such as vegetable oil, soybean oil, peanut oil, or canola oil. If craving additional flavor or a nice aroma, sesame oil can be your best bet.
You can also apply similar variations to chili peppers also. Cayenne peppers, hot red chiles, and Sichuan pepper flakes are best to use for extra spicy flavor. However, chili flakes, paprika, and pasilla pepper powder are more on the subtle smoky side while offering mild heat.
Other optional add-ins are sesame seeds, garlic powder, liquid smoke, bay leaves, or cinnamon.
To make a handy condiment, take a pan and pour 1 cup neutral oil into it. Heat the oil over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until hot. Add other optional spices to the oil if preferred.
After that, take ¼ cup chili flakes or chili powder of your choice in a heat-proof container. Pour the hot oil over chili peppers carefully, and that’s it.
Leave the oil at room temperature to set a bit until the chile flavor steeps to oil. Transfer the homemade chili oil to sterilized, dry, and air-tight jar and keep refrigerated for your upcoming savory treats.
FAQs
Is Chili Oil Healthy?
Generally, chili oil is a combination of oil and chilies that are substantially healthy and nutritious. So, overall chili oil provides you with healthy fats, vitamin A & C, antioxidants, iron, and potassium. It helps reducing heart diseases, boosts immune system, and makes your food last longer.
What Are The Best Chili Oil Brands?
Lee Kum Kee Chili Oil and Lao Gan Ma chili oil are best for Chinese cooking recipes whereas S & B Chili Oil works best in Asian cuisines. If can’t put your hands on these, make your own homemade version and give your recipes a spicy kick.
Can You Substitute Sriracha For Chili Oil?
Yes, you can. Although, sriracha lacks the consistency of chili oil and lies somewhere between the sauce and paste, you can turn it into chili oil. Add ¾ cup of vegetable oil to ½ cup of sriracha sauce and heat until both ingredients mix well. Your tangy-sweet yet a spicy alternative to chili oil is ready to make things heavily delicious.
