Catherine，
With this new method, the pepper flakes may not be crispy anymore. If you want a crispy version, then you should skip the water.
But let them combine for one or two days, and the color will turn out light and red. And the taste is different. You can define which one is your favorite.

Dear Elaine,
I always cooked the chili oil following your first recipe here, and it was very good. Thank you for teaching, first of all.

But today I tried to cook chili oil, moisting the chili flakes acc.to new tip in the recipe, and my oil turn out...how to say...muddy color, not so clear cristall red as earlier.

How do you think, what's the problem?

Then you can simply skip it Christin. Only very limited influence on the final flavor.

Rob,
Thank you for such a long time supporting. Knowing my favorite chili oil recipe worked fine for me, I am so happy.
Now you can continue checking other Sichuan recipes calls for real Sichuan chili oil. Happy cooking.

However, my favourite brand of chilli oil seems to have stopped being "hot enough" recently - the last time I made Kung Po Chicken, I had to use 6 tablespoons of chilli oil instead of the usual 2-3! So I thought I would give your recipe a try.

Verdict:

This is amazing! Not only does it have a great flavour, but it is as hot as I need it. I have used it for Kung Po Chicken, Mapo Tofu and Garlic Chicken (in varying amounts), and it works perfectly every time! I'm going to give it a try on some chicken thighs next week (I usually use my own combination of Indian spices), as I think it would work well.

Thank you so much for this recipe! 谢谢 !

This is a shortcut version, friendly for home cooking. That one is a restaurant version.

since i found that they are both similar and share similar usage, so i am a bit confusing