This shiitake chili sauce recipe is an aromatic condiment made with fresh meaty shiitake mushrooms and beautiful red chili peppers that will elevate any dish. For the spice-seekers out there, this will give you a new condiment that you'll surely want to keep stocked up at times.
Chili oil sauce is such an essential ingredient to have in your fridge. Whether it's to elevate your dumpling dipping sauce or to add as a core ingredient to a bundle of noodles, there's almost nothing a chili oil condiment can't do.
Ingredients
- Fresh shiitake mushrooms
- Fresh red chili peppers
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Star anise
- Chili powder: You can sub paprika for chili powder
- Cumin powder
- Soy sauce
- Sugar
- Sichuan peppercorn
- Roasted peanuts
- Neutral oil: The neutral oil will be split into two portions— one to sauté the ingredients and the other to top off at the end.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Wash shiitake mushrooms thoroughly and get under the caps - this is where a lot of the dirt lives. Slice off the stems and break down in a food processor. Blitz only a couple seconds at a time to avoid the mushroom turning into a paste. Remove and set aside.
2. Blend garlic, ginger, and chili peppers in the blender and remove.
3. Grind Sichuan peppercorn in a mortar and pestle.
4. Heat up 2 tablespoon of neutral oil in a deep pan and fry the aromatic blend, star anise, and grounded Sichuan peppercorn. Stir the mixture on low-medium heat until you can smell the aromatics.
5. Move aromatics to one side of the pan and add in another 2 tablespoon of oil and add the chopped mushrooms. Sauté for 2-3 min on medium heat until the mushrooms have shrunk. If you feel that the pan has become too dry, you can add a little more oil to the pan.
6. Add in the cumin powder, chili powder, sugar, toasted peanuts and soy sauce. Sauté for another 2 minutes. Remove the star anise (biting into these will leave an unpleasant numbing feeling!).
7. Let chili sauce cool in glass containers. While chili sauce is cooling, heat up ¾ cup of neutral oil in the same pan and allow the oil to reach 200 F.
8. Pour the oil over the sauce, let cool to room temperature. Store in air-tight containers.
Storage
Let the final product cool to room temperature and then store in an air-tight jar such as these Ball jars.
Always use a clean utensil when handling to prevent any cross-contamination. The sauce should be good in the fridge for up to two weeks.
Top Tips
- When blitzing the ingredients in a food processor, do so for only a couple seconds at a time and then use a spatula to break up the ingredients. Letting the food processor chop for too long will cause a mushy mess (especially with the mushrooms!). You'll end up with a paste instead of finely chopped ingredients.
- When filling the jars at the end with oil, ensure the ingredients are fully submerged. The oil helps to keep the ingredients fresh.
📖 Recipe
Shiitake Chili Oil Sauce
Equipment
- Food processor
- Mortar and pestle
Ingredients
- 8 fresh shiitake mushrooms
- 3 fresh red chili peppers
- ½ inch ginger
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 pieces star anise
- 1 tablespoon Sichuan peppercorn (ground)
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 tablespoon roasted peanuts
- 3 tablespoon neutral oil (for frying)
- ¾ cup neutral oil (to complete sauce)
Instructions
- Wash and remove stems from shiitake mushrooms. Place in a food processor and blitz for several seconds at a time until finely chopped. Remove from processor.
- Add prepared garlic, chili peppers, and ginger into food processor and blitz for several seconds at a time until finely chopped.
- Place Sichuan peppercorn into a mortar and pestle and grind.
- Add 2 tablespoon of neutral oil into a deep frying pan on medium-high heat. Fry the garlic, ginger, chili pepper, Sichuan peppercorn, and star anise over a low fire until aromatic, around 2-3 minutes.
- Add in another 2 tablespoon of oil and the chopped mushrooms. Stir-fry until the mushrooms soften and darken. If you feel the pan is getting too dry, you can drizzle a little oil on the side of the pan. Sauté for around 4-6 minutes.
- Add chili powder, cumin powder, sugar, toasted peanuts, and soy sauce and continue cooking for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Let ingredients cool down and use chopsticks to remove the star anise pieces. Place sauce into a glass container that can be shut air tight.
- While chili sauce is cooling, heat up the remaining ¾ cup of neutral oil in the same pan and allow the oil to reach 200 °F. Pour over the mushroom mixture in the jars.
- When cool, shut jars tightly and store in the refrigerator.
Justin says
Where do the peanuts come in?
Julia says
Thanks for catching that, Justin, I just updated the recipe. You add the toasted peanuts when you are adding the cumin, chili powder, sugar, and soy sauce.
Helen at the lazy gastronome says
Absolutely delish recipe. Wonderful on eggs!
Erin says
This looks amazing! Definitely going to make it!
Nancy says
A good chili oil makes all the difference
Amy Liu Dong says
I have never tried to make but it looks easy and delicious.
Saving this recipe as my reference. Thank you!
Jere Cassidy says
You are so right about having an oil in the fridge. I am finding these flavored oils go on so many foods and your recipe using the shitake mushrooms is perfect on cheese and bread.
megane says
So much more flavour than regular chili oil. I love the addition of the shiitake.
Elizabeth says
We could not get enough of this sauce! A perfect blend of flavors!