Chilli oil, chilli dipping sauce
Chilli oil is used extensively in Chinese cooking, to impart a sharp, hot flavour. It is sometimes served as a dipping condiment as well as being used as a seasoning. It is made from crushed dried chillies or small whole chillies, depending on the flavour you are seeking.
Shopping tips
It is better to make your own chilli oil, as many store-bought versions can easily go rancid. The Chinese versions of commercially made chilli oil tend to be milder and certainly are never as hot as the chilli oils from Southeast Asia. Of course, as chillies vary, so do the oils vary in strength and flavour. You can purchase chilli oil from Chinese markets. The Thai and Malaysian versions are especially hot; the Taiwanese and Chinese versions are more subtle.
Storage notes
It is easy to make your own chilli oil. Once made, put it in a tightly scaled glass jar and store in a cool, dark place where it will keep for months.
Useful hints
Commercial products are quite acceptable, but I include the following recipe because the homemade version is the best. Remember that chilli oil is too dramatic to be used directly as the sole cooking oil; it is best used as part of a dipping sauce or as a condiment, or combined with other mild oils. I include spices (pepper and black beans) for additional flavours because then I can also use the oil as a dipping sauce.
Chilli oil/chilli dipping sauce
250 ml (8 fl oz / 1 cup) groundnut oil [US peanut oil]
30 g (1 oz / 1 1/4 cups) coarsely chopped dried red chillies
4 tbsp whole un-roasted Sichuan peppercorns
3 tbsp whole black beans
Heat a wok over a high heat and add the oil. When the oil is very hot, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir for 1 minute over a low heat. Remove from the heat and allow the mixture to cool undisturbed. Let the mixture sit overnight. The next day, strain the oil and keep it in a cool, dry, dark place.
© Ken Hom and reproduced with his kind permission.
