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Sichuan Red Chilli Oil Recipe (Hong You). Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved. Hóng Yóu.
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5 from 1 vote

Sichuan red chilli oil recipe

Sichuan red chilli oil is an essential ingredient in Sichuanese cooking. It’s simple to make, adds a wallop of flavour to every dish you use it with and lasts forever – but it won’t be that much time before you’re making a new batch.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 1 Jar
Calories: 751kcal

Ingredients

  • ½ cup chilli powder/flakes mix
  • 3 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
  • 1 ½ cups neutral oil peanut, rice bran, vegetable or canola

Dried Spices for aromatic chilli oil

  • 4 pieces star anise whole
  • 2 pieces bay leaves dried
  • 1 piece cinnamon stick or a piece of cassia bark
  • 4 pieces cloves
  • 1 piece black cardamom broken open with seeds

Instructions

  • If you have whole chillies, toast these in a dry wok for a minute. Once they have cooled off, cut them up and deseed the chillies. If you are making straight red chilli oil add the Sichuan peppercorns and toast with the chillies.
  • Once deseeded, place the chillies in a blender and blend to a powder if you want pure ‘red chilli oil’ or simply blend down and leave lots of flakes if you want ‘aromatic chilli oil’.
  • If you are making ‘aromatic chilli oil’ toast your dried spices and Sichuan peppercorns in a dry wok until the spices become aromatic.
  • Place the oil in a saucepan over low heat and add the dried spices and Sichuan peppercorns and take the oil up to around 130˚C for a few minutes until infused. Strain out the spices. Increase the heat of the oil to 180˚C.
  • Place the chillies in a wok, pushing them up the sides of the wok leaving a little bare patch in the centre of the wok. We’re going to pour the oil here.
  • With the oil at 180˚C, pour half the oil into the centre of the wok and stir in the chillies quickly using cooking chopsticks or a long silicone spatula. It will splutter and bubble, but you want this for the first pour. Take the remaining oil off the heat.
  • Once the oil has been evenly distributed, wait until the oil temperature has reduced to 135˚C and pour in half of the remaining oil and stir.
  • When the oil is down to 85˚C, pour in and mix the remaining oil.
  • Take the chilli oil mixture off the heat and let it get down to room temperature.
  • Place the chilli oil mixture in a clean glass jar and refrigerate overnight.
  • If you’re making the ‘aromatic chilli oil’, it is now ready to use.
  • If you’re making the ‘red chilli oil’, strain the oil to remove the chilli and place back into a clean jar. The oil is now ready to use.

Nutrition

Serving: 1jar | Calories: 751kcal | Carbohydrates: 88g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Sodium: 1959mg | Potassium: 2804mg | Fiber: 54g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 35362IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 626mg | Iron: 27mg