The heatwave may truly be gone, after two months of relentless high mercury level. We had rain twice this weekend. Good for everyone, not just plants.
I made fragrant chili oil today. I enjoy the sensation from chili but not the numbness it brings to my tongue. Most chili sauce/oil from Chinese grocery stores are too spicy for me to enjoy the chili fragrance. So I made my own today with Gochugaru (korean chili flakes), just mildly spicy but mightily aromatic.
Not-Spicy Chili Oil
- 1 cup of korean coarse chili flakes (gochugaru, go for the mildest version if you have to choose)
- 1/2 tablespoon of ground white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of Chinese 5-spice
- 1.5 teaspoons of table salt
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of stock powder (optional)
- 1.5 tablespoons of coarsely ground Szechuan peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
- 2 green onions, minced
- 1.5 cup of neutral tasting oil (I used canola)
To stir in towards in the end
- 3 tablespoons of garlic granules
- 2 tablespoons of fried shallots or dried onion flakes
- 2 tablespoons of white sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Mix chili flakes, white pepper, 5-spice, salt, sugar and stock powder if using in a bowl and set aside.
In a 14/16-cm round pot, heat the oil with Szechuan peppercorns and minced ginger on medium-low heat. Heat the oil gently so that it brings out the spice aroma without darkening. When the bubbling noise turns low (meaning the ginger moisture almost gone), add in green onions. Stir and make sure you don't burn the green onions. When the splattering noise has quietened again, stir in the chili mixture. Stir a few times to combine and remove from the heat. Mix in garlic granules, fried shallots or dried onion flakes and sesame seeds. Let the mixture cool to body temperature and stir in the sesame oil.
Bottle the chili sauce in sterilized jars. I got two Bonne Maman jars plus a few table spoons extra.
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