If there’s one thing in this world that would cause my death along with its extinction it’s chili. Eating spicy food is not a choice for me, it’s an essential. Unfortunately, a lot of store-bought chili and chili oil look red and amazing but are not spicy enough, not numbing enough, or not aromatic enough. Just a whole lot of a food coloring, preservatives, and MSG. So I decided to make some myself using high-quality grass-fed beef tallow, now I can enjoy spicy food while getting some good fats in me.
I rendered the beef tallow that I used by myself. Every week, I would make a pot of bone broth using beef bones, grass-fed beef tendon, grass-fed beef rib fingers, and grass-fed short ribs. I strain and preserve the golden layer of fat that floats on top of the soup which is rendered from the grass-fed beef. I use it to cook sometimes but I don’t use a lot of cooking oil and I’ve accumulated a small bottle so I decided to use it to make chili oil.
Chili oil recipe ingredients:
- 2 tbsp Chinese chili powder
- 1 tbsp dried chili seeds
- 1/2 tsp salt, or too taste*
- about 250ml oil/fat (grass-fed beef tallow fat in my case)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 stalk cinnamon
- 2 tsp Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) Sichuan Peppercorns
- 2 tsp Plum Blossom Sichuan Peppercorns
(You can replace the above 2 with 4 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns of any type.)
- 2 star anise
- 1 dried lantern chili
- 2 dried heart-shaped hot chili
(You can replace the above 2 with 3 dried chilies of any type.)
Chili oil recipe instructions:
1. In a heat-resistant air-tight jar, put in the chili powder, chili seeds, and salt.
2. Place the oil/fat in a pot and heat it on medium high heat.
3. Place all the remaining spices in a pan and sear until the aroma is released and slightly smokes. Keep stirring as it cooks to prevent the spices from burning.
4. Place the spices into the pot of hot oil and turn on low heat to prevent the spices from burning. If the spices burn, they would turn bitter. Stir as you cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Drain the oil into the jar.
6. Throw in a few Sichuan peppercorns that have not been fried, then one of the star anise and half of the cinnamon stalk you just fried.
That's it! This chili oil can be kept in your fridge almost indefinitely, just make sure that you do it with a clean spoon when you use it. If you are using animal fat as I did, keep in mind that it would solidify in the fridge (even at room temperature actually). Before using it, I would soak the jar in hot water and it would be ready for use in less than a minute. You can use it as a dipping sauce or use it to make any cold side dishes with some additional minced garlic. I also tried putting it in broth which turned into a great mala (numbing spicy) soup. You can literally use it for anything! I love it so much I almost went through half of it within a week.
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Cherie Aria🧜🏻♀️ 艾雪莉
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