Some options are so powerful that they should be used as a dominant flavor profile when cooking: Think of chile oil-drenched noodles with fresh cilantro and cucumber, which usually feature an oil with intense, spice-forward flavors. Most often, the name suggests whether it will be more like an oil or a crisp the latter contains more chile flakes and other flavoring ingredients - like garlic crisp, fennel seeds, anchovies, or preserved black beans - that add more textures to the mix. There are two things to consider when trying a new chile crisp: the oil-to-crisp ratio and any flavoring ingredients.
From Max Boonthanakit’s Boon Sauce to the classic Lao Gan Ma, which started the chile oil boom in America, chile crisp - which, put simply, is a condiment with oil and chile flakes - is so hot right now.
I’ve been collecting them for months now I currently have at least 10 different chile crisps and oils, ready to turn up the volume on anything I make. These days when I open my fridge, a stack of chile crisp jars greets me.
