Fried Onion-Chili Crisp Dip
This dip is a merger of my favorite fried onion dip with spicy Sichuan chili crisp. Both dishes start out the same: with frying onions. I add garlic, chiles and spices to the mix and then stir them together for a creamy dip with a wonderfully warm kick. The ground Sichuan peppercorns and MSG are optional, but if you have one or all of them, add them for a more aromatic dip. Normally averse to such things, I actually prefer “lite” sour cream for this dip since you stir in ½ cup of oil from frying the onions. If you added that to regular sour cream, it’d be too rich to eat, even for game day.
Combine the oil and onion in a small skillet and then place it over medium-high heat. Once the onions start sizzling, cook, stirring occasionally to promote even browning, until the onions are uniformly golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.
While the onions cook, combine the chile flakes, salt, pepper and sugar in a medium heat-proof bowl. If using, add the ground Sichuan pepper and MSG too.
Once the onions are ready, stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Pour the hot oil, onions and garlic over the aromatics in the bowl and stir until evenly combined and the oil settles down. Let the chili crisp cool completely.
Once cooled, pour the chili crisp into a sieve set over a small bowl or container to drain off the oil; reserve the flavored oil. Transfer the aromatics and spices to a medium bowl and stir in the sour cream. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days to allow the aromatics to fully permeate the sour cream.
Spoon the dip into a bowl and drizzle a spoonful of the reserved flavored oil over the top; save the remaining oil for another use, such as coating cooked noodles, drizzling over rice or frying eggs. Serve the dip with potato chips.
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