There are some condiments I enjoy making from scratch and chile oil is one of them. I have been using a very simple recipe and then I ran across this recipe in “The Art of Escapism Cooking – A Survival Story, With Intensely Good Flavors” by Mandy Lee. I have all the ingredients to make this very flavorful oil, which is often an important ingredient in Asian cuisine.
My recipe has four ingredients, Mandy’s has 11 ingredients just to make chili oil. It was one of the first recipes in her cookbook and I immediately knew I wanted to make it.
Mandy Lee's Chile Oil
I did cut the recipe in half.
- 2 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce
- 4 garlic cloves, grated
- 1/2 cup Sichuan (spicier) or Korean (milder) chile flakes
- 1 star anise pod
- 2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp. curry powder
- 2 cups canola oil
- 3 tbsp. white sesame seeds
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 tbsp. finely ground Sichuan peppercorns
Combine the soy sauce and grated garlic and set aside.
Using a spice grinder, grind the chile flakes, star anise pod, coriander, cumin and curry powder into a fine powder. Combine the spice powder with the oil, sesame seeds and bay leaves in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil and boil for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, until the chile flakes have turned maroon in color but not black.
Turn off the heat and add the ground Sichuan peppercorns. Stir and let fry for about 30 seconds. Add the soy sauce/garlic mixture – it will boil up but keep stirring until the sizzling has died down.
Let the chile oil sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours; it’s best to leave it out overnight. Keep in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
Sounds like a great find!
I’m sure the kitchen smelled heavenly, with all these spices and chili.
I love the recipe Ronit! My kitchen did indeed smell wonderful – that’s one of the reasons I like to make home made 🙂
lots of fabulous flavours here!
For sure Sherry – I make a lot of Asian recipes so I usually have the ingredients needed on hand 🙂
I have yet to make chile oil. You’ve inspired me to add it to my list as soon as I set up my new kitchen. 👏👏👏
Have you moved into your new house yet? I’m sure great things will be coming out of your new kitchen. The oil is very flavorful and easy to make 🙂
Probably mid June the way things are going. We’re excited! 👏👏👏
I’ve made chili oil before but haven’t tried a recipe that uses curry powder. I love curry, so I will have to try this version. 🙂
My kitchen smelled so good with all those spices. I am going to make a Sichuan potato recipe soon and plan to use this oil. I bet it will kick the recipe up a notch 🙂
Oh boy I bet this is good! thanks for the recipe!