Hello Foodies and Food Lovers. Any of you ever heard of Chilli Oil? I first tasted this a long long time ago when a friend invited me to a Dimsum Restaurant. He said they served the best Chilli Oil, a Chinese specialty. It tasted so good that ever since I would always look for it everytime I ate in a Chinese restaurant. Well tonight my wife surprised me when she said she was making Chinese Chilli Oil, based on a recipe she got from the internet. She said this recipe, according to her source, will beat any commercially made Chilli Oil in any Chinese restaurant. Really? Well this I have to see. Shall we?
What is Chilli Oil? It is actually a condiment made from oil and infused with hot peppers and various herbs. It is commonly used in Chinese cuisine, thus the term Chinese Chilli Oil. My wife used palm oil and a little of sesame oil for added flavor.
Here's the recipe.
Don't worry so much about not being able to understand what my wife wrote. We'll go through each in detail.
She placed all the ingredients in one plate, going through each item on the list though not necessarily in the same order. She was going to cook for two servings so she doubled the quantities.
Star Anise (10 pcs)
Cinnamon (equivalent of 2 sticks)
Black Cardamon (8 PCs)
Bruised Garlic (8 cloves with skin on)
Coriander Seeds (4 tablespoons)
Szechuan Peppercorns (2/3 cups)
Place all ingredients in a pot.
Add Palm Oil (2 quarts)
Bring to boil then simmer in low heat for at least an hour, preferably 2, if you're not in a hurry.
Remove garlic when brown. Burnt garlic will spoil the flavor so they have to be taken out. That's the reason why the skin was not removed. So they'll be easier to find. They become brown real quick.
Prepare Chilli Flakes
While simmering the oil so it can absorb all the herbs' goodness and flavor, measure 2 cups of Chilli Flakes and place in a separate pot. Add 3 teaspoon of salt and mix.
After simmering the herbs for 2 hours pour oil into the other pot with the Chilli Flakes. Use a sieve to make sure the herbs are not mixed with the oil. We only need the oil.
Note: This is boiling oil so caution must be exercised when pouring it. It is recommended that a deep pot or container be used to avoid accidents.
Add Sesame Oil (1/4 cup) - Optional
And voila! We now have our special Chinese Chilli Oil!
Wait to cool before transferring to bottle containers. Use a funnel to avoid spillage. The whole recipe was good for 4 bottles of 440 grams net weight.
What a treat. Deeelicious. Home-made beats commercially made anytime, hands down. I asked my wife why, after all these years, did she decide to cook this. Apparently, there are health benefits to Chilli Oil which she just became aware of. That's what got her interested in it. She had been ordering online all the necessary ingredients until she had them all.
Chilli Flakes are suffused with iron, folic acid, potassium, Niacin, Capsaicin, and Vitamins A and C. All these improve health as follows:
Iron and Folic acid - Helps in reducing diseases like Anemia. The acid aids in fast cell growth, especially in pregnant women.
Pottasium - Helps in reducing heart diseases.
Niacin - Lowers cholesterol and clogging that leads to diabetes.
Capsaicin - Pain reliever, gets rid of infection and construction in respiratory system
Vitamin A - Good for eyesight and normal vision, healthy skin, bone health and reproduction.
Vitamin C - Boosts immune system and fights certain cancers.
Read all about health benefits of Chilli Oil here.
It's not only for Chinese dishes. You can use it on practically any viand. My wife cooked some Italian sausages last night and the sauce just made it taste even better. You just have to try this out! Nothing to lose, everything to gain gastronomy-wise and healthwise!
And that's it for this post. Hope you liked it. Stay safe and a great weekend to you all.
(All photos are mine.)