Sam Ek's Chili Crisp

Recipes

Chili Crisp

By Sam Ek

The Midwest has figured prominently in this Wauwatosa native’s culinary trajectory – studying culinary arts at Milwaukee Area Technical College, working in restaurant kitchens here (Cubanitas, the old Taylor & Dunne’s) and in Minneapolis. He joined the Odd Duck kitchen staff in 2014, and as executive chef, he translates his creativity to plates in the out-of-the-box way that the Walker’s Point tapas-style restaurant is known for.

The broccoli dish, another family favorite, uses ingredients the family easily has on hand. The chili crisp has a “ton of flavor,” and the broccoli often comes from the family garden. “We’ll do a lot of wok-fired veggies, and we throw that chili crisp on everything.”

Ingredients

Yields About 1 quart

2 cups canola oil

1/2 cup sesame oil

1 piece cinnamon

1 piece black cardamom

2 pieces of star anise

2 tablespoons Szechuan peppercorn

1 tablespoon black peppercorn

2 pieces shallots, diced small

8 pieces garlic, minced

1.5 cups Korean chili flake

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate

3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoons white vinegar

Instructions

Place all the oil into a pot with all of the whole spices. Place over medium/high heat for roughly 30 minutes until the flavor is infused into the oil.

Strain the spices out of the oil and return the strained oil to the pot over medium/high heat. Add the shallots and garlic slowly so you don’t overflow the pot. While they are cooking, place the Korean chili flake, salt and monosodium glutamate into a large bowl or pan. As soon as the garlic and shallots start to turn golden brown, pour the oil/shallot mix over the chili flake mixture.

Wait for the temperature to cool down a bit and slowly add the liquid ingredients.

When it is cool, store it in a glass jar (I use recycled pickle jars), and it will last for one month.

I serve it with broccoli (that was blanched, shocked, strained and fried in the wok or a pan), ranch dressing and scallion.

Bio

Sam Ek was born in Wauwatosa and raised in Oconomowoc. Originally a film major at UW-Milwaukee, Ek transferred to MATC after an injury that required surgery. To be a full-time student, he picked culinary and hasn't looked back. Ek has been the executive chef of Odd Duck since 2019. He has had the opportunity to work in Milwaukee under the tutelage of chefs Ross Bachhuber, Dan Jacobs and Marc Bianchini, among others. In a short stint away from Milwaukee, Sam had the privilege to train with Tommy Begnaud, Kory Nuesse and the late Matthew Kempf while in Minneapolis. In 2024, he was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Midwest.

Sam Ek

Odd Duck

Sam Ek

Odd Duck

About Odd Duck

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