By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 14, 2026
Serves 4
254 cal · 20 min
Homemade Rayu
Recipe GLPRe9090a2ad37c0c
A fragrant Japanese chili oil infused with ginger, garlic, and scallion. This versatile condiment brings heat and aromatic depth to any dish, combining sesame oil with whole and ground red peppers for complexity. Perfect drizzled over noodles, rice, or used as a finishing oil for soups and vegetables.
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped scallion, white parts only
1/2 cup toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon ichimi togarashi or ground red pepper
1 tablespoon coarse red pepper flakes
Directions
Prepare all ingredients: finely mince the fresh ginger, garlic, and white parts of the scallion. Measure out both the ground ichimi togarashi and the coarse red pepper flakes, keeping them separate.
Pour the toasted sesame oil into a small saucepan and place over low heat. The oil should warm gently—it should not smoke or become too hot.
Once the oil is warm, carefully add the minced ginger, garlic, and scallion. Stir gently for about 1 minute until the aromatics become fragrant, being careful not to brown them.
Remove the pan from heat. Add the ground ichimi togarashi and coarse red pepper flakes, stirring well to distribute the spices evenly throughout the warm oil.
Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally as it cools to ensure the spices infuse evenly into the oil.
Transfer the finished rayu to a clean glass jar or container. Store in a cool, dark place or in the refrigerator. The rayu will keep for up to 2 weeks and can be drizzled over noodles, rice, soups, and vegetables.
Comments
Every ingredient is a staple at any Charlotte supermarket—ginger, garlic, scallions, sesame oil, red peppers, and red pepper flakes are standard stock at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Walmart, and ALDI. The ingredient cost is genuinely low, probably under $3 total for four servings since you're mainly paying for produce that you'd buy anyway. The stated 20 minutes is honest for mincing and infusing; this is a condiment that keeps for weeks in the fridge, making it endlessly useful for leftovers or batch cooking. It's undemanding—no active cooking, no watching—and it solves a real problem for weeknight meals by adding heat and flavor to plain rice, noodles, or proteins without extra effort.
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