A simple and delicious condiment – this chilli oil can be used as a dressing for your soups and salads.
Make little jars of this beautiful deliciousness and give them to your heat loving friends as gifts.
I’m thinking of stocking up my pantry with different flavour chilli oils for the winter, to keep warm and help keep the pesky flu bugs away!
After years of living and traveling around Southeast Asia, I have become very accustomed to eating hot food. Since coming back to our home in Australia 8 months ago I’ve started to miss the food I had become so familiar with eating on a daily basis. And it’s not just the heat I’m missing, but the delicious Asian flavours and many small condiments and spices that I’ve tried along the way and fell in love with.
Here, with this chilli oil, I’m recreating one of my favourite Asian condiments.
Sometimes it can be a bit tricky in a small western world town to find the ingredients I’m looking for, but I’ve tried my best at finding suitable replacements.
Ingredients
3/4 cup grapeseed oil ( or any other light flavour oil )
2 star anise
1-2 cassia bark sticks or 1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns ( Chinese Sichuan peppercorns if available )
1/4 cup chilli flakes
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds ( optional )
1 spring onion thinly sliced ( optional )
Method
Prepare a small saucepan, sieve and a heatproof bowl.
- Place star anise, cassia bark and peppercorns into a small saucepan, then pour oil over the top.
- Place chilli flakes, sesame seeds and sliced spring onion into a heatproof bowl.
- Bring oil and spices to a simmer over a low heat and simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove the saucepan with the oil and spices off the heat and carefully pour through the sieve into a bowl with chilli flakes.
- Give it a little stir and leave to cool before pouring into a glass jar.
- Refrigerate and use as needed.
Notes
Use lesser amount of chilli flakes for a milder oil. Roasted Japanese sesame seeds will give the oil beautiful nutty flavour. Don’t be afraid to experiment with the flavours to find out your favourite ones.
Mix with black vinegar, soy or tamari sauce to drizzle over dumpling soup or steamed dumplings.
If omitting scallions, it’s ok to for the oil to be kept in the pantry or a kitchen cupboard.