USAThe oil temperature is everything. Too cold and the egg steams gently in oil — fine, but not the dish. Hot enough and the white contacts the metal through a thin layer of shimmering oil and the bottom crisps almost instantly while the top sets from basting. You want to hear a loud sizzle the moment the egg goes in. If it's a gentle hiss, the oil isn't hot enough — take the egg out, heat longer, try again.
Use a small pan — 18–20 cm. In a large pan the oil spreads too thin and the temperature drops when the egg goes in. A small pan keeps the oil depth consistent and the egg white pools naturally rather than spreading flat.
Chili Oil Eggs
By Sergei Martynov
Eggs fried in chili oil until the whites blister and go crispy at the edges while the yolk stays completely liquid. Two minutes. One pan. The recipe that made chili crisp legible to millions of people who'd never heard of it. Eat with rice, with bread, over noodles, or directly from the pan.
What you'll need
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp
See recipes with chili oilchili oil (chili crisp, with solids)
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See recipes with flaky sea saltflaky sea salt
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See recipes with cooked rice or crusty bread to servecooked rice or crusty bread to serve
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How to make it
Instructions
- 1
Heat the chili oil in a small pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers and you can see the oil moving. This takes about 90 seconds. Don't rush this — oil that's not hot enough gives you a gently cooked egg, not a crispy-edged one.
- 2
Crack the eggs in, one at a time, directly into the hot oil. Step back slightly — the oil will spit. Don't move the eggs.
- 3
Tilt the pan towards you and use a spoon to repeatedly baste the egg whites with the hot oil for 60–90 seconds. The whites will bubble, turn lacy and golden at the edges. The yolk should remain completely liquid — it just warms through from the oil basting.
- 4
When the whites are fully set and the edges are crispy and dark golden, slide the eggs out onto a plate. Spoon all the remaining chili oil from the pan over the eggs. Finish with a pinch of flaky salt. Serve immediately with rice or bread.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get crispy lacy egg whites when frying eggs in chili oil — mine always come out flat and soft?
The oil must be genuinely hot before the egg goes in — shimmering and moving in the pan. Test it with a single drop of water: if it evaporates instantly with a sharp spit, the temperature is right. Cold or warm oil produces a gently fried egg. Hot oil produces a blistered, lacy white with crispy edges. The basting technique also matters: tilting the pan and spooning oil continuously over the white sets it from the top while the bottom crisps.
Can you make chili oil eggs without chili crisp — can regular vegetable oil work?
Regular oil produces a fried egg — a good one, but not the dish. The chili crisp brings three things that plain oil doesn't: fried garlic and chili solids that become crispy themselves in the pan, heat that infuses the egg as it cooks, and the deep savory oil that you spoon over at the end. A halfway option: heat plain oil until very hot, add a teaspoon of chili flakes and let them bloom for 30 seconds, then fry the egg. Not the same, but closer.
Is it safe to eat eggs with a runny yolk — should the yolk be cooked through for food safety?
Runny yolks from fresh, refrigerated eggs sourced from reputable suppliers carry a very low risk in most countries. The whites are fully cooked in this recipe — only the yolk stays liquid, warmed by the basting oil. If you prefer a set yolk, simply baste longer or cover the pan briefly with a lid to trap steam. The chili oil eggs recipe works equally well with a fully cooked yolk — just adjust the basting time to your preference.
What do you eat with chili oil eggs — what are the best ways to serve them?
Rice is the classic and most natural pairing — plain steamed jasmine or short-grain rice underneath the egg absorbs the flavored oil. A thick slice of toasted sourdough or any crusty bread works just as well for a Western-style serve. Chili oil eggs also work over noodles (ramen, soba, plain wheat), on avocado toast, alongside a bowl of congee, or broken over a simple green salad. The flavored oil that comes with the egg is as important as the egg itself — make sure it gets on whatever you're eating.
Can you fry more than two eggs at once in chili oil — does scaling up work?
Two eggs per small pan is the practical maximum. With more than two, the egg whites spread and overlap before they set, the oil temperature drops, and you lose the crispy edges. For four people: use two small pans simultaneously, or fry in two rounds and keep the first batch warm in a low oven (100°C) for no more than 3 minutes. The eggs from the second round will be slightly better — the pan and oil are fully preheated.
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Comments (1)
I crack the eggs into a separate bowl first for this chili oil eggs — it only takes a second and saves you from fishing out shell fragments or discovering a bad egg after it's already mixed in.