Z &Y, a San Francisco Sichuan restaurant, just posted their chili oil recipe. I like their idea of putting bay leaves, black cardommom (Amomum Tsaoko), and star anise in the oil as it heats up to 400F; and then straining them out before adding the oil to the chilis. I’m going start adding that step to Fuchsia Dunlop’s much more home-cook friendly chili oil recipe—- I’ve been manually fishing out my black cardamom a few days after I make chili oil and it’s always a pain in the butt.
Do you make chili oil and, if so, what seasonings, and proportion, do your add?
I make chili oil, but it’s literally just chilis and oil. With this as inspiration, maybe I’ll add some other things to my next batch.
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Presunto
(--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])
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I make Laoganma sometimes. Have used dried shrimp, dried mushrooms, dried shallots etc at different times. I don’t add any garlic to the oil due to safety concerns. Only do that when I’m ready to eat. I use good olive oil and pulse Sichuan heaven-facing chillies in the food processor.
Fry some annatto seeds in oil to obtain this gorgeous colour.
I’ve made this one a few times, was very happy with it.
long peppers, dried bird’s eye chilies (I used arbol which the recipe says are good substitute) Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, oil
She has a few recipes on her site for different chili oils, sauces, etc - I’ve made a lot from the site but not a lot of the chili oils/sauces - the recipes turn out well.
Are olive oil and sesame oil common in chili oil? Why not vegetable oil? Can you tell?
ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
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I made chili oil with bay leaf, sesame seeds and a bunch of spices/aromatics and have to admit - I don’t really love using it, although I feel it’s legit: https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-make-chili-oil/
It tastes really strongly of bay leaf and doesn’t have that nice umami flavor that you get from most chili oils. I was pretty careful with the oil temperature, so I’m not sure what factors play role.
The best chili oil sauce I’ve ever had was made by friends of mine; the wife in the couple hails from Sichuan province (I want to say Chengdu), and he’s Taiwanese American. Their recipe is quite simple:
She stressed that the choice of chili flake and the control of the oil temperature are key. I was surprised that she actually uses Kirkland chili flakes and heats the oil to about 355F, then pours it over the peppers (and sometimes Sichuan peppercorn).
Cool to room temperature, mix in soy sauce, sugar and raw minced garlic. Be careful with the sugar as it will become stronger as it dissolves. The ratio of soy sauce, sugar, and garlic is to taste.
I was gifted a jar of this sauce and it is pretty darn amazing. Makes everything taste better. Much better than my own attempt at chili oil, and less complicated. I’m going to try this with some facing heaven chilis I have.
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ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
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This discussion set off a craving that could not be denied. It turned out fantastic!
Neither the fragrance nor numbing were terribly prominent, though I don’t think I’ve ever made it with super fresh Sichuan peppercorns.
ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
17
I am putting this stuff on everything! Avocado toast, quesadillas…soon, eggs
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ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
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As a reference, for that much oil I used around 3 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 1/2 tsp sugar, and two finely grated cloves of garlic. I started with maybe 1 c. whole dried chilies and a scant tbsp. of Penzey’s Sichuan peppercorns, which are quite pungent.
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Presunto
(--> Back in Athens - Goat's/Sheep's Yoghurt every day ... [Fleeced Taxpayer :@)) :@)) ])
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Hyperbowler, I keep the heat the lowest possible.
Boohoo… the very last of my Chilean smoked peppers. Chile is not on my travel list in the next couple of years. Hopefully 3 years from now.
They are still so intense after all these years. I had to stand back a couple of times. Had to sneeze, too. I snipped the peppers and only added good olive oil. Not eating it any time soon, they need some time to steep. Nothing else besides oil. I want to taste the pure flavour of aji de cabra.
My chilli haul from this market walkabout. Next time I will only buy the whole smoked goat’s horn. My rucksack weighed 5kg/11lbs on the way to Chile. On the way back it was 2kg/4.5lbs heavier. The extra weight was all chillies.
I find the Sichuan peppercorns in stir-fries to have a potent but transient effect–maybe five minutes or a bit more–so, not like with really hot chiles.
Is that a typical ingredient in Chinese chili oil?
