A Condiment Bound To Elevate Your Eating Experience
Mel F'd around and found out her chili crisp could change lives--well, meals.
Happy Friday, Love!
Can you believe that April is running away from us?! This year is moving at lightning speed. It seems crazy, but you know what seems crazier? You thinking that I’d start this issue without asking you, what you’ve been eating? Don’t lie…are we eating lighter or still in the throes of heavy winter foods? No judgment here!
As for me, I’ve been experimenting with a bunch of new dishes—more and more IG/Tiktok food trends and I’ve got to say, I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I’ve been bumbling into bangers! In this week's issue, I’ll be sharing my take on a condiment that has IG and Tiktok in a chokehold, and for VERY GOOD reason…it bangs! I made this chili crisp as an accompaniment to some homemade air-fried spring rolls my husband and I rustled up for dinner on a random Saturday night! I’ve been eating it ever since and I don’t know how I lived without it.
Let’s get in the kitchen and bless you with this magic.
Mel’s Divine Chili Crisp
If you believe in serendipity, this recipe is that. If you believe only in random coincidence then, perhaps, it is that. For me, however, this chili crisp is an act of divine intervention as I rarely have all of these ingredients in the house at the same damn time. In fact, just hours before venturing to cook, I was short on at least one. Anywho, it tastes as divine as the circumstances of its genesis in my kitchen, but don’t take my word for it…
Here’s What You’ll Need:
3 large cloves of garlic (thinly sliced)
1 whole star anise (or ¼ teaspoon ground)
Red chili flakes
MSG (optional but highly recommended)
Brown sugar
Soy sauce
Black Pepper
Paprika (optional—adds color and a bit of smokiness)
Lemon-infused coconut oil (or regular high smoke point oil of your choosing and a splash of lemon juice or extract)
Glass bottle with an airtight lid
Here’s What You’ll Need to Do:
#1 Thinly slice your garlic cloves.
#2 Put about ¼ cup of oil or ½ cup if you want to make a bigger batch in a pan on low heat and add your garlic slices. Move them around with a wooden spoon turning them frequently until they are lightly fried but cooked through. Remove the garlic cloves and set aside.
#3 Keep your oil on low heat and turn it up slightly so the oil can come to a boil.
#4 While your oil comes to a boil, add your garlic cloves, a good shake of MSG, two tablespoons of red chili flakes, half a teaspoon of brown sugar, star anise, paprika, and black pepper to a small bowl.
#5 Pour your boiling oil into the bowl and stir vigorously until everything is well mixed, and add a splash of soy sauce to taste.
#6 Pour your chili crisp into your glass bottle, store it on the countertop, and use up to a week or refrigerate it and use it for up to 3 months.
I have used it as a dipping sauce for spring rolls, seasoning for stew, and a condiment on grilled cheese sandwiches, and I’m just getting started. Some people use fried onion in theirs as well. I haven’t tried that yet but when I do, you’ll be the first to hear about it. In the meantime, make it, use it, and thank me later!
I hope you love this divine condiment as much as I do! If you liked, loved, or even hated this recipe or issue, share it and share it widely. You know why? Everything food-related is better with company/community.
Until we meet again, add a little spice to your life.
XOXO,
Mel
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