NPG Authentic Sichuan Chili Flakes 5 LB Bulk, Medium Hot, Szechuan Crushed Red Pepper Flakes Bulk, Essential Spice Seasoning for Making Kimchi, Chili Oil, Stir-fry, Pizza, Salads, and Tacos

I am a chef, and a superfan of Szechuan cuisine, it's my passion to make the best, most authentic Szechuan food, so I am always searching for the best ingredients, not just what's available.Let's get to it. I make many versions of Hong You, but my go-to is just Szechuan chili flakes and peanut oil for pure versatility. It's got a wonderful nutty toasted flavor and and a mild burn that is perfect to cook with as well as a condiment. I prefer to separate the flakes from the oil when done, so I wind up with 2 products; a gorgeous Ruby oil which is clear and free of flakes, and the rest of it, which is the flakes and some oil which I tend to use in impromptu stir fries and near the end of a cooking dish.What you see in my pictures are 2 jars of Hong You. They are straight out of the fridge and the base oil is peanut oil, so it's cloudy and firmed up, but at room temp is clear. The large quart is after 24 hours, ready to pour into jars. The flakes are in hand so you can see they are exactly as represented in the product pictures.The more orange colored jar is made with the Szechuan chili flakes I must often use, available here or at any Asian grocery. Red/clear 1lb bags. It is delicious, toasty, nutty, with what I'd consider a mild burn.The dark red jar is made in exactly the same way, but with these flakes!! It is a rich deep Ruby color, and the flavor is far more lively, with a hint of...brightness/freshness that isn't present in the other. This is also a hotter oil by about 2x from the other.My method is simple. 1C of chili flakes, 2.5C of peanut oil. Take your flakes and place them in a quart Ball jar (don't use a non-canning jar here, important!), and place the jar on a a hot pad in a dry kitchen sink (safety, if it breaks you do NOT want injuries, a big mess, etc) Heat the oil in a small saucepan to 300F (instant read thermometer plz), them pull it off the heat. The heat will rise a bit, and begin cooling. Let it cool back down to 290-300F. CAREFULLY pour the oil into the jar with the flakes. It will fizz and bubble a bit, and that's perfect. Allow this to sit undisturbed for a few hours and allow it to cool to room temp. Cover it and place it on a countertop out of direct light and leave it undisturbed for 24 hours. Prepare a 2 16oz jars. Carefully and slowly pour the oil off the top into the 16oz jar trying not to disturb the now settled flakes at the bottom. Take the rest and pour it all into the second jar. Cap them and store in the fridge, it keeps for months and months, but it probably won't last that long.If you like the results, explore and try new recipes for Hong You with additional ingredients like ginger, star anise, etc. Always follow the instructions as fresh ingredients like ginger and garlic introduce new challenges to make the oil safe for consumption.TL:DR These flakes produce a wonderful end product, have a brighter fresher flavor than most we can get in the US, and I highly recommend these!

Love the flavor and very spot on with spice. Best I've had.

I've loaded up on this product. Very spicy and pungent but not ridiculously hot, with a remarkable fruity and complex chili flavor. I use it in all my Szechuan and Korean cooking and have basically used it to replace regular chili flakes in Italian dishes and on pizza. Outstanding product.

Thought this would be medium spicy, but it was quite hot. We used to make chili oil and it turned out hotter than expected.

Was exactly what I expected

The chili flakes were a fine addition to my chinese cooking. Arrived ontime.

This crushed pepper has nice color and flavor, no seeds, but plenty of heat.

The medium hot is "just right" (I like hot food). What sets it apart is that it has a distinct red pepper taste (almost bell pepper). So much better than the simple pepper seeds or ground chili.