I use a mix of chiles and garlic to this along with some herbs and aromatics, which are optional but give that added flavour. They’ll turn from a bright red and yellow colour to a dark red-ish/brown colour. The garlic and chilies will have released all their flavours into the oil and turn slightly crisp. WHAT TO CONSIDER: HOW CRISP YOU WANT THE CHILES AND GARLIC IN YOUR SAUCE TO GET

The aromatics I used a mix of Chinese 5 spice powder, bay leaves, Szechuan peppercorns, and star anise. Can I use dried chiles? I haven’t tried this exact recipe with dried chiles but I have used dried chiles to make an easy chili oil and the flavour isn’t as strong compared to using fresh chiles of course. Though if you’re using dried chiles, I recommend to process these as well and just cook down with the garlic. AROMATICSIMPORTANT: Be careful not to hold the chiles with your hands! If you accidentally do, don’t scratch your face (especially your eyes!) since these can be really hot. COOKING THE SAUCE

From there, I cook the chiles and garlic down over low to medium low heat. Keep an eye out to make sure these don’t burn. A Filipino-Chinese version of chili oil (it’s actually very similar to chili garlic crisp or chili oil) It’s also up to you how crisp you want your garlic and chiles to be. If you want these less crisp, you can opt to stop cooking these earlier on when the chiles are still a bright red. Afterwards, I add in the processed chili and garlic. Lower the heat to prevent the chiles from burning. Easily customisable–you can opt to add in lots of spices and even opt to cook down the chiles & garlic shorter/longer depending on how crisp you want them to turn out