干辣椒 | gānlàjiāo

How do I use dried chiles in Chinese cooking?

Dried chiles are used more for their aroma than for their heat. They lend deep, smoky fragrance and mild spiciness to chili oils, condiments, and braised or stir-fried dishes. For stir-frying, you typically snip the whole dried chiles into thumbnail-sized segments (with seeds shaken out), and add them to the shimmering hot oil in the wok along with the other aromatics like garlic, ginger, scallion, etc. In Sichuan regional cooking, dried chiles are often paired with Sichuan peppercorns.

What kind of chiles should I buy?

There are many varieties of Chinese chiles, mostly cultivated in Sichuan and Guizhou province. For general cooking, look for 1 to 2 inch long “facing heaven” Tianjin chilies (朝天椒 cháo tiān jiāo), or 4 to 5 inch long Erjingtiao Sichuan chilies (二荆条 èr jīng tiáo), which have a fruity, rich fragrance and mild heat.

The smaller the pepper the spicier, so avoid the tiny, light red dried Thai bird’s eye chilies (小米辣 xiǎo mǐ là): they’re far too hot for the amounts called for in these recipes. When you cut them up, you shouldn’t feel an immediate burning sensation on your fingers or stinging in your eyes— these will add considerable heat to the dish.

If you can’t find Chinese chilies, dried japones chiles or guajillo chiles sold in regular grocery stores and Latin American markets are the closest equivalent.  

Always buy dried chiles in small packs so you can test out their flavor and heat, and look for a deep red color, rich fragrance, and soft and pliable skin. Don’t buy the pre-cut segments— whole dried chiles have a lot more flavor and it’s easy to snip them yourselves with scissors. Avoid brittle, fading and discolored chiles, which may be several years old.

The cheapest place to buy dried chiles are in your local Asian supermarket like 99 Ranch or H-Mart. I recommend Mala Market for the best online source.

How to prepare dried chiles

• Using a sharp knife or pair of kitchen scissors, cut or snip the chiles into roughly 2-cm segments— you don’t need to remove the caps.
• Shake out the seeds onto the cutting board, as best as you can, and discard them.

Use in recipes

Most Chinese recipes use dried chiles as aromatics. Heat the specified amount of oil in the wok or pan until it is shimmering, and then add the dried chiles, stirring occasionally as they start to blister and pop in the hot oil and release their fragrance. When they smell deliciously toasty, and are starting to darken in color, immediately add the subsequent ingredients so the chiles don’t burn.

Always keep the kitchen well-ventilated by opening a window or turning on the overhead exhaust fan.

How to store dried chiles

Keep them in a closed container in a cool, dry place.