Homemade Sichuan Chili Oil

This recipe was inspired by Made With Lau’s version found here: https://youtu.be/omuoTY3T16w?feature=shared

This batch will make four servings, about 1-¼ cup, which you can store in the fridge for months.

CHILI MIX:
1.5 oz/43g Sichuan dried chili flakes: https://amzn.to/3UbuRLf
½ tsp/3g salt
½ tsp/3g sugar
½ tsp/3g black pepper
1 Tb/7g paprika
1 Tb/15ml neutral oil (canola, peanut, corn)

AROMATICS:
1 oz/28g sliced ginger (fresh)
1 oz/28g sliced red onion
0.5 oz/14g sliced shallot
Three garlic cloves sliced
Two pieces of star anise
4 oz/118ml neutral oil (canola, peanut, corn)
1 Tb/9g sesame seeds
1 Tsp/5ml sesame oil

How To:

• Mix the Sichuan chili, salt, sugar, black pepper paprika, and 1 Tablespoon oil in a heat-resistant bowl.
• Roughly slice the onion, ginger, shallot and garlic. Place the star anise in some water and leave it for a few minutes, then drain.
• Heat the 4 oz oil in a wok over medium heat until the temperature reaches 300F/150C. Drop in a slice of onion. If it starts sizzling, the oil is hot enough
• Fry the ingredients in batches, starting with the ginger (15 sec), followed by the garlic (5 sec), shallots (30 sec), onions (20 sec), and the star anise. After that, fry for approximately 4-5 minutes until the ingredients get a light brown-golden color. Don’t burn them since they will taste bitter
• Turn off the heat and scoop the ingredients out of the oil with a strainer
• Turn the heat on to keep the temperature around 300F/150C, and bring the chili mix bowl close to the wok.
• Scoop one ladle at a time in the chili mix while stirring continuously. Add a second ladle,
• Add the sesame seeds and sesame oil, then scoop the remaining hot oil
• Scoop the chili oil into an air-tight jar and store it in the refrigerator