What to use instead of chili crisp
It depends entirely on what it's doing in the dish. Here's the job, what else does it, and what to skip.
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Crunchy chili condiment spooned over a finished dish
Fried chilli, garlic and soybean sitting in oil deliver heat, crunch and savoury depth at once, and the oil is what carries all of it across the plate.
Hot oil poured over chilli flakes, garlic and saltRan out
1/2 cup oil heated to 150C over 3 tbsp gochugaru + 3 minced garlic cloves + 1/2 tsp salt
Ten minutes of work and it covers the oil and the heat. Softer crunch, since nothing was fried crisp beforehand.
Sambal oelek with fried shallotsRan out
1 tbsp sambal + 1 tbsp fried shallots per 1 tbsp chili crisp
Sharper and more sour since sambal is vinegared, and the crunch fades faster once it touches sauce.
Chili oil stirred up from the sedimentRan out
1 1/2 tbsp per 1 tbsp chili crisp
Same heat and the same red slick, far less texture. The dish looks identical and eats completely smooth.
Japanese la-yu with fried garlicRan out
1 1/2 tbsp per 1 tbsp chili crisp
Lighter and more sesame-forward with a fraction of the salt, so add a pinch to make up the seasoning.
What doesn't work: Sriracha. It is a smooth vinegar and sugar sauce, so it thins whatever it lands on and tastes sweet-sour where chili crisp is savoury and crunchy.
Fried aromatic base stirred into noodles or tofu
Cooked into a dish it stops being a topping and becomes the seasoning oil, spreading chilli, garlic and fermented savouriness through everything.
Doubanjiang fried in oilRan out
1 tbsp doubanjiang + 1 tbsp oil per 1 1/2 tbsp chili crisp
Deeper and much saltier with the fermented bean up front. This is what mapo tofu is actually built on.
Gochujang thinned with oilRan out
1 tbsp gochujang + 1 tbsp oil per 1 1/2 tbsp chili crisp
Sweeter and thicker, so it clings to noodles rather than coating them, and it turns the sauce glossy red.
Chilli flakes bloomed in oil with soy sauceRan out
1 tsp flakes + 1 tbsp oil + 1 tsp soy sauce per 1 tbsp chili crisp
Covers the heat and the oil. Missing the fried garlic sweetness, so the finished dish tastes thinner and flatter.
What doesn't work: Dry chilli flakes stirred in at the end with no fat. Capsaicin needs oil to spread, so the heat stays in isolated specks and the dish comes out bland and randomly fiery at the same time.
Most of the salt and savoury seasoning sits in the crunchy layer at the bottom of the jar, so stir before you spoon and salt the dish afterwards.