Spicy Chinese hot oil (紅油/hong you)

Chinese spicy hot oil goes so well with almost anything! After watching a number of YouTube vlogs and other cooking shows, I was inspired to create my own version of it taking inspiration from both the Shaanxi and Szechuan styles. My version has heat from the dried chillies, a bit of numbing from the green peppercorns, and a lot of floral aromas from the red peppercorns and other ingredients.

Here is what you'll need:

Part 1
1.5 cups dried red chilli flakes
1.5 teaspoon salt
4-5 garlic cloves (minced)

Part 2
2.5 cups canola oil
2 tablespoons red peppercorns
2 tablespoons green peppercorns
4 bay leaves
4-5 star anise
1 cinnamon stick (about 3 inches long)
4-5 whole dried chilli
1 green cardamom
1 black cardamom

Part 3
2-3 tablespoons white roasted sesames
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon black vinegar (to taste)

Process:
1. Mix the first 3 ingredients (chillies, garlic and salt) in a large glass container and set aside. I prefer using the jar that I’m going to store the oil in just so I have one less thing to wash!

2. In a medium saucepan, heat the oil and all the spices (red and green peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon, green and black cardamom, star anise, and whole chillies) on medium heat until they turn a brownish colour, making sure the spices dont burn. This step only takes about 5 - 7 minutes

3. Remove the spices from the hot oil and pour into the container with the chilli flakes, garlic, and salt. You can use a metal strainer to fish the spices out or pour the oil through a strainer right into the container. The oil shouldn’t be too hot buy not too cool either. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being super hot, aim for around 7-8. To test if you have the right oil temperature, simply pour about a tablespoons worth of oil into the chilli mixture, if they dont sizzle then its not hot enough. If the oil is smoking even before you pour it into the chilli mixture, then it is too hot to pour into the chillies. Take it off the heat and let cool for a couple minutes (See my video below for an example of how it should look)

4. While the oil is still warm, add the sesames, sesame oil and black vinegar and carefully mix it around. Be careful, your glass container is probably going to be quite hot to touch. You can use the oil right away but it is best if you wait about a day to let the ingredients danceand mingle around in the container.

That’s it! Pretty simple eh? The hot oil doesnt need to be refrigerated and should last 6-8 months on the shelf, but if you’re like me, the jar will be gone in a couple months or sooner!