chili oil <3
If you’ve ever been to a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant that’s worth its salt, it has containers of chili oil out on the table for you to add freely to your meal. I worked at a Vietnamese Pho restaurant for about 2 years and got to learn some of the ins and outs. Although they purchased pre-dried red chilis in bulk then grinded them, I’m a dehydrating maniac so I like to purchase my own Thai chilis and oven-dry them myself, although you can use just about any chili to make a good chili oil.
Take a half a pound or so of Thai chili peppers. You can use Serranos, Fresnos, Cayenne, or really any hot chili that you can get your hands on, but my preferred chili are the small Thai chilis. It may take longer to dry depending on the size and type of chilis you use, so slice them accordingly.
It’s recommended to wear a pair of disposable rubber gloves so that you do not get the capsaicin oil on your fingers (the stuff that burns when you touch it).
Cut off the tops of the chilis and cut them in half lengthwise (keep all seeds and innards).
Place on a baking sheet in a single layer. Bake at 170 degrees (the lowest that most modern ovens will go) and make sure to keep the oven door slightly cracked open to let out the moisture and ensure they don’t burn. Check every 30 minutes until chilis are dried and can be easily crumbled (should take approximately 2 hours).
Once chilis are dried, crush them up using mortar and pestle or just a spoon and bowl. Place the dried, crushed up chilis into a mason jar, then add enough vegetable oil or avocado oil to cover. There you have it.
This chili oil is shelf-stable and does not need to be refrigerated. You can add some other ingredients as well, like lemongrass, garlic, ginger, or onion, but make sure that they are dried as well (fresh garlic in oil can breed botulism very quickly, so make sure its dried).
This chili oil can be either mildly spicy to extremely spicy, entirely depending on the types of chilis you use. It goes very well in soups, particularly Asian soups, but is great in sauces and stews of any cuisine. I particularly like to add it to the sauce that goes with my veggie dumplins, but just be sure to add it in single drops at a time and taste. One time I made dumplin sauce and added a big spoonful of the chili oil thinking it would be enough, but it was an extra spicy round of chilis and I about died, even despite my high tolerance to spice. So be careful.
Depending on the type of chilis you use, the oil can turn red or green or maybe even orange-ish yellow.
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