I rarely find myself leading the way in new trends in food, much less anything else. And so I now find myself late to the chili crisp party. Two things happened that brought me to this point – someone gifted me a jar of Trader Joe’s Chili Onion Crunch and I discovered The Kitchn’s recipe for Charred Onion and Chili Crisp Dip. I fell in love with this dip and have been making it ever since.

One big difference

As you know, I like shortcuts, especially when it involves a Trader Joe’s product. If I can find something that makes my life a little easier, whether it is a boxed cake mix or, in this case, a jarred condiment, I will use it – as long as it tastes good.

The Kitchn’s recipe teaches you to make your own chili crisp and it’s really not very difficult at all. In this case I chose to use the pre-made condiment instead.

A couple of smaller differences

There are a couple of smaller adjustments I made:

• First, I swapped plain yogurt for sour cream – we normally have sour cream on hand so that’s what I used. I think either would be great in this recipe.
• Secondly, I add a few drops of sriracha for some extra heat. This is optional and is purely to taste. If you use other jarred chili crisps, you may adjust based on its flavor profile.

To serve

I like eating this dip with carrot sticks and cucumber slices. I love the refreshing crunch from the fresh veggies along with the tangy spiciness of the dip.

I’ve also found that veggie chips go particularly well, especially sweet potato and parsnip chips. The sweetness of the chips also goes well with the spiciness of the dip.

Print