This Ingredient Gives Pasta Salad A Much-Needed Kick

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Pasta salad is a go-to side dish at summer potlucks and backyard barbecues. After all, what's not to like? There's al dente pasta, fresh vegetables, and tender chunks of protein, all dressed in a delicious sauce that can be served at any temperature. Sure, it's a winning combination, but also a little bit safe. So one way to seriously upgrade your pasta salad is to add an ingredient that is probably already in your pantry: chili oil.

Chili oil with noodles is not a novel idea. It has long been the secret ingredient to a more flavorful bowl of ramen, adding a punch of deep and savory flavor that elevates the entire dish. So it makes perfect sense to employ it in a bowl of pasta salad, which, let's face it, is essentially a bowl of dressed noodles. If you are concerned about the spice levels being acceptable for the crowd you are serving, you can dress your pasta salad very mildly, and serve extra chili oil on the side for guests to customize as they please. Win-win!

Chili oil does not just have to be for Asian-style pasta salads. Take this one pasta salad you must make this summer, for example. Perfectly grilled summer vegetables often need little more than a sprinkle of herbs and balsamic vinegar to liven it up. But if you pivot from the (delicious but) typical Western flavor profiles and dress this vegetable pasta salad in chili oil, it will undoubtedly garner new fans at the picnic table. If you cannot get the exact combination of vegetables the recipe calls for, feel free to swap them out for other sturdy vegetables that will stand up to the heat of a grill. Think mushrooms, carrots, and even corn on the cob, which can then be sliced off the cob and tossed with the pasta.

What about the chili oil itself? Some options to buy are the ever-popular Lao Gan Ma or La-Yu. The former is often full of chili, onions, and soybeans, while the latter is simply chili oil with no bits floating in it. Both have their merits, depending on whether you want a nutty crunch in your pasta salad or more of a smooth finish. If you make your own homemade chili crisp, you can customize the flavorings further according to your own preferences.