Rayu substitute

Best substitute

Homemade sesame chilli oil

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil plus 1 tablespoon neutral oil plus ½ to 1 teaspoon ichimi togarashi or cayenne makes about 2 tablespoons

Best for gyoza dipping sauce

Close match

The genuine article from three pantry items, and better than most bottles.

Other rayu substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Chinese or Sichuan chilli oil
Different taste
about half as much, or 1:1 diluted with an equal amount of neutral oil
The obvious swap and the one most likely to overpower the dish if you pour it like rayu.
What changes
Best for
ramen and noodle soups, stir-fries and mapo tofu, dumplings when you want them hotter, cooked dishes rather than delicate dipping sauces
Chinese chilli oil is generally hotter, redder and built on neutral oil with a heavy load of chilli and often star anise, cassia or Sichuan pepper. If it contains Sichuan peppercorn it will bring a tingling numbness that has no place in a Japanese dipping sauce and that most people notice immediately. It also usually lacks the pronounced toasted sesame perfume that defines rayu, so add a few drops of toasted sesame oil alongside it. Diluting with plain oil fixes the heat but not the aroma.
3Toasted sesame oil plus chilli flakes
Close match
Use 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil plus ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes or a pinch of cayenne for every 1 tablespoon rayu
The thirty-second version, and it covers the part of rayu people actually taste.
What changes
Best for
gyoza and dumpling dipping sauce, finishing ramen, cold tofu and salads, rice bowls
Most of what rayu contributes to a dipping sauce is nutty sesame aroma with a suggestion of heat behind it, and this delivers exactly that. The difference is that undiluted toasted sesame oil is stronger and slightly heavier than rayu, which is cut with neutral oil, so use a touch less than the recipe calls for or the sauce will taste dominated by sesame. The chilli flakes will not infuse instantly, so the heat sits in the flakes rather than in the oil, giving occasional sharp bites rather than an even warmth.
4Chilli garlic sauce or sriracha plus sesame oil
Taste and texture differ
Use ½ teaspoon chilli garlic sauce plus 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil for every 1 tablespoon rayu
Workable in a dipping sauce, wrong anywhere the oil itself matters.
What changes
Best for
gyoza dipping sauce mixed with soy and vinegar, noodle dressings, marinades
These are water-based pastes rather than oils, so they will not float in a glossy layer on soup or coat noodles the way rayu does, and sriracha brings sugar and a strong garlic note that reads Thai rather than Japanese. In a soy-and-vinegar dipping sauce where everything gets stirred together, the difference is minor and the result is perfectly good. Floated on a bowl of ramen it looks and behaves wrong, going cloudy and sinking instead of pooling on the surface.
5Ichimi or shichimi togarashi with plain oil
Different texture
Use ½ teaspoon togarashi plus 1 tablespoon neutral or sesame oil for every 1 tablespoon rayu, or sprinkle the togarashi dry
The right chilli in the wrong medium, and often the best thing in a Japanese pantry.
What changes
Best for
ramen and udon, rice bowls and donburi, yakitori and grilled dishes, when you want heat without adding fat
Ichimi togarashi is straight ground Japanese chilli and is exactly the pepper rayu is usually made from, so the heat character matches well. Shichimi is a seven-spice blend with sesame, nori, orange peel and sansho, which is more complex and slightly citrusy and can be lovely, though the sansho adds a faint tingle. Sprinkled dry you get the heat and none of the richness or gloss. With sesame oil added you have essentially made rayu.
6Taberu rayu (chunky chilli oil with crisp garlic and onion)
Different texture
Use the same amount but spoon out mostly oil if the recipe wants smooth rayu
A related product rather than a substitute, and worth understanding before you swap it in.
What changes
Best for
spooning over rice, eggs and tofu, dumplings, cold noodles, topping grilled meat and vegetables
Taberu rayu means eating chilli oil, and it is loaded with fried garlic, fried onion, sesame seeds and sometimes dried shrimp, which makes it crunchy, deeply savoury and much more assertive than plain rayu. As a topping it is arguably better. In a dipping sauce the solids sink to the bottom of the dish and the garlic dominates the soy and vinegar, so if a recipe wants clear rayu, tip the jar and take the oil off the top.

What is Rayu?

Rayu is Japanese chilli oil, also written la-yu or layu, made by pouring hot sesame and neutral oil over chilli powder with garlic and ginger. Its job is aroma and a gentle background warmth rather than real heat, and it is much milder and far more sesame-scented than Chinese or Sichuan chilli oil.

Cooking tips

Take the oil off the heat before the chilli goes in. Around 250 to 300 degrees Fahrenheit is right; visibly smoking oil scorches the chilli powder in seconds and gives you a brown, bitter oil rather than a clear red aromatic one. This is the mistake that ruins most first attempts.
Rayu is a finishing oil, not a cooking oil. The toasted sesame in it breaks down and turns bitter over heat, so drizzle it on at the end rather than frying in it, and if a recipe has you cooking with chilli oil it probably means the Chinese kind.
Use half the amount if you are substituting Chinese or Sichuan chilli oil, and check the label for Sichuan pepper or huajiao. The numbing tingle is pleasant in dan dan noodles and jarring in a gyoza sauce, and it is the difference nobody warns you about.
The standard gyoza dipping sauce is roughly two parts soy sauce to one part rice vinegar with a few drops of rayu, so you are usually adding a quarter teaspoon rather than a tablespoon. At that volume almost any of these substitutes works, and the aroma matters far more than the heat.
Homemade rayu separates and the chilli settles, so shake or stir it before each use, and store it in the fridge if you infused fresh garlic or ginger into it. Fresh aromatics in oil are perishable, so use a garlic-infused batch within a week rather than leaving it on the counter.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave it out?

Usually yes, with a real but small loss. In a gyoza dipping sauce made of soy and vinegar, skipping the rayu leaves the sauce tasting flat and thin, because the oil is what gives it body and aroma, so add a few drops of plain toasted sesame oil instead and you have lost almost nothing. In a bowl of ramen it is a garnish and can go. Nothing structural depends on it.

Is rayu the same as Chinese chilli oil?

No. Rayu is generally milder, built on a large proportion of toasted sesame oil, and lightly spiced with garlic and ginger. Chinese chilli oil is usually hotter, made with neutral oil, more heavily loaded with chilli, and frequently spiced with star anise, cassia or Sichuan pepper. They swap in either direction if you adjust the amount, but they are not the same flavour.

What is taberu rayu and can I use it instead?

Taberu rayu is the chunky version, an eating chilli oil packed with crisp fried garlic, onion, sesame seeds and sometimes dried shrimp. It is excellent spooned over rice or dumplings and often better than plain rayu as a topping, but in a dipping sauce the solids sink and the fried garlic overwhelms everything else. Pour off the clear oil from the top if a recipe wants smooth rayu.

How hot is rayu?

Mild by chilli oil standards. It is made to be drizzled freely as a seasoning rather than used as a heat source, so most bottles are pleasantly warm rather than fiery. If you find rayu too hot, you may have bought a Chinese-style oil or a Sichuan version by mistake, and if you find it disappointingly mild, that is working as intended.

Which chilli should I use to make it at home?

Ichimi togarashi is ideal because it is the Japanese ground chilli rayu is normally made with. Cayenne is a good stand-in at the same quantity. Korean gochugaru gives a lovely colour and a milder, fruitier heat but you will need noticeably more of it. Avoid smoked paprika or chipotle powder, which push the oil in a barbecue direction that tastes clearly wrong with soy and vinegar.

Related substitutes

More oils & fats substitutes

Rayu substitute

Other rayu substitutes

2Chinese or Sichuan chilli oil

3Toasted sesame oil plus chilli flakes

4Chilli garlic sauce or sriracha plus sesame oil

5Ichimi or shichimi togarashi with plain oil

6Taberu rayu (chunky chilli oil with crisp garlic and onion)