Chinese Naan Bread with Chili Oil

Let's give Chinese naan bread a bold upgrade! Soft, fluffy naan is cooked on the stovetop, brushed with a fragrant homemade chili oil, and finished with fresh cilantro. It's a fantastic side dish with a spicy kick!

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Recipe

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Chinese Naan Bread with Chili Oil

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: bread

Servings: 8 naan

Author: Christine Ma

Ingredients

Naan

• ¾ cup warm water, 100-110 degrees F (188 ml)
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (7 grams)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour (370 grams)
• 2 tablespoons warm milk, 100-110 degrees F (30 grams)
• ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt (57 grams)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil (27 grams)

Chili oil

• ½ cup olive oil (125 ml)
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
• 1 star anise
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 bay leaf
• ½-inch ginger knob, roughly sliced
• ½ cup red chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar

Remaining ingredients

• ¼ cup chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sea salt

Instructions

• Make the naan dough. Combine the warm water with sugar and yeast in a bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and the yeast is activated.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, milk, yogurt, salt, oil, and the yeast mixture. Mix until a rough dough forms and knead until smooth, about 7-8 minutes. Alternatively, knead the dough by hand. The dough will be soft and slightly sticky. Transfer the naan to a clean bowl, cover, and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, make the chili oil. Combine the oil with cumin, fennel, peppercorns, star anise, garlic, bay leaf, and ginger in a medium sauce pot. Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350 degrees F. Lower the heat to low and continue to cook the spices until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. If the oil gets too hot, turn off the flames and let it sit.
• Put the chili powder in a large bowl and place a mesh strainer on top. Pour the hot oil through the strainer directly into the bowl with the chili powder. Add the salt and sugar and stir to combine. Let cool.
• Punch down the naan dough and divide it into 8 equal pieces. Lightly dust a clean work counter with flour and roll out the dough until it's ⅛-inch thick.
• Heat a skillet over high heat until it's scorching hot. Place one of the naan on the pan and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbles form, flip and cook another 1-2 minutes or until browned. Remove from heat and keep warm in clean kitchen towels. Repeat with the remaining dough.
• Brush the chili oil on the naan and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and sea salt. Serve warm.

Notes

This recipe makes a generous amount of chili oil. Reserve the remaining for another use or you can half the recipe.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1: Make dough

Even if you have never made bread from scratch before, I believe that naan is an easier dough to work with. It doesn't take as long as sourdough, and there's not a bunch of rules and specifics that you need to follow.

It's really just a matter of making the dough, letting it proof, and shaping it.

I like to use the stand mixer to knead the dough, but you can also mix it by hand. Knead the dough until it's smooth. It should be soft and still slightly sticky.

Then, cover the dough and let it rise in a warm area until it's doubled in size.

Step 2: Prepare chili oil

Meanwhile, make the homemade chili oil. You can also make the chili oil up to a week in advance.

To make the chili oil, add all the spices except the chili powder to the oil and heat it until it reaches 350 degrees F. Let it simmer until the spices become fragrant, but make sure not to burn them. If the oil gets too hot, turn off the flame and let it sit.

Put the chili powder in a bowl, place a strainer over the chili, and pour the oil through the strainer into the bowl with the chili powder. Add sugar and salt, and let it cool.

Yes, you can technically buy chili oil, but just like with bread, homemade is better.

Step 3: Cook naan

Now let's turn our attention back to the naan. Punch down the dough and divide it into 8 equal portions. If you want to keep the sizes consistent, you can use a scale to evenly divide the dough.

Lightly dust a work counter and roll out the dough until it's ⅛ inch thick. You can roll them into round or oblong shapes. I like to mix it up and keep it rustic with various shapes.

Unlike regular bread, we're going to cook this Chinese naan bread on the stove.

Heat a skillet or cast-iron pan over high heat until it's scorching hot. Then, place one of the naans on the pan, cover it with a lid, and cook it for a minute or until it starts to bubble up.

Flip the naan and cook it for another 1-2 minutes or until it's lightly charred on the bottom. That's all it takes!

Wrap the naan in a clean towel to keep it warm while you cook the remaining portions.

You can enjoy the naan just as is, but we're going to take it one step further. Brush the chili oil on the naan and finish with a sprinkle of fresh chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of sea salt.

My favorite naan was always the garlic variation, but this Chinese naan bread with chili oil has quickly climbed the list. It has the perfect hint of spice and pairs perfectly with roasted eggplant dip or sweet potato and chickpea red lentil dal. So delicious!

Make-ahead and storage

• Make-ahead: You can make the chili oil up to 1 week in advance. You can also make the dough the day before and store it in the refrigerator overnight. Bring it to room temperature the following day before shaping.
• Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

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