Sichuan Chili Oil

Sichuan Chili Oil
Chili oil is a common ingredient in Asian cuisines and it's super easy to make your own! At it's base chili oil is oil and chili pepper flakes! You simply heat the oil, add the chili pepper flakes and let cool/sit so that the chili pepper heat is infused into the oil! You can add extra flavours to the chili oil making it more complex with common additions being garlic and ginger. This is a Sichuan chili oil because of the use of Sichuan peppercorns which add a nice lemony aroma along with creating a slight tingly numbness in the mouth which goes perfectly with the spicy heat of the chili peppers. Sichuan peppercorns come in green and red and you can typically find the in an Asian/Chinese grocery store, though they are usually labeled poorly so you have to look at what's in the package to make sure you are getting the right thing. This Sichuan chili oil is spiced with hints of cinnamon, star anise and black cardamom and I tend to use Korean style chili pepper flakes as they are easy to come by. (I use the same chili pepper flakes in my homemade kimchi.) Once made, this chili oil will last for months in a sealed container in the fridge.

Read the recipe »

Comments