Connie’s notes
The flavor is Sichuan-style but the heat level is not. This is toned down chili oil for people like me. If you want something really scorching, double or even triple the amount of chili flakes.
Making Sichuan-style chili oil consists of two parts.
First, you’ll need to cook ginger, onion, star anise, bay leaves, cumin and garlic in oil over low heat. The goal here is to extract the flavors of the spices and get them transferred into the oil.
While the oil is squeezing out the flavors of the spices, mix five-spice powder, chili flakes and sesame seeds in a heat-proof bowl. I cannot over-emphasize the heat-proof part here. You’re going to pour hot oil into that bowl so it better be strong enough to handle the intense heat. A bowl that can go into the oven would be perfect.
How hot should the oil be when poured over the chili flakes mixture? It depends on the chili flakes you’re using. Dried chili flakes are not created equal. Some are hotter than others and some are more dry than others. Very dry chili flakes will burn fast if oil just taken off the heat is poured directly over them. Less dry chili flakes (water contant is higher) will make a sputter when hot oil touches them.
So, you need to know the characteristics of your chili flakes to know just how hot the oil can be when they get doused. Our default at home is Korean chili flakes. More sweet that spicy, the level of heat is just perfect for us. There’s a little sputter when oil just off the heat is poured over them but not the kind of sputter that poses any hazard.
After pouring the strained oil into the bowl with the chili flakes mixture, discard the browned spices because all their flavors are already in the oil.
The second part is leaving the chili oil to steep to allow the flavors to bloom. That takes much longer than the cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 red onion halved
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 star anise
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic lightly pounded
- 1 ¼ cups cooking oil
- 2 to 4 tablespoons dried chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Arrange the ginger, onion, star anise, bay leaves, cumin and garlic on the bottom of a thick frying pan so that they are in a single layer.
- Pour in the cooking oil.
- Over very low heat (less than 250F ideally), cook the spices until softened and lightly browned. Be extra careful not to burn them.
- While the spices cook, whisk together the chili flakes, five-spice powder and sesame seeds in large HEAT-PROOF bowl.
- When the spices are nicely browned, strain the oil directly into the chili flakes mixture. Stir.
- Cover the Sichuan chili oil loosely and leave to steep for at least three hours.
Sichuan-style potato stir fry
