Substitution for chili oil?

[Laura]

Does anyone have a substitution for chili oil. The one store near my home did not have any and I don't want to drive around town. I think recall one using crushed red pepper but don't recall the amount. Thanks in advance.

[Gail]

Ye Olde Cook's Thesaurus says (clearing throat):
hot chili oil = chili oil Notes: Chinese cooks sometimes add a drop or so of this to dishes in order to heat them up. Look for small bottles of this in Asian markets and large supermarkets. To make your own: Visit the Hot Chili Oil recipe posting on the Kosher Chinese Recipes site, or the Hot Chili Oil recipe posted on SOAR. Substitutes: sesame chili oil OR 2 parts salad oil + 1 part cayenne pepper

Or if you want to make your own, the links to the two sites listed above are:
http://www.kashrus.org/recipes/chinese/hot3.html
and http://soar.berkeley.edu/recipes/oils/hot-chile1.rec
respectively.

Good luck!

[Laura]

Thanks Gail, I think I have everything I need to improvise. Since the kids are gone, I can probably go a little overboard on the spicy side and still be okay.