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Szechuan oil

  • 220 g Vegetable oil
  • Spices
    • 5 g Ginger
    • 2 Bay Leaves
    • 3 Star Anise
    • 1 Bark Chinese Cinnamon
    • 3 Scallion Whites
    • 1/4 t Sichuan peppercorn
    • 4 Cloves
    • 1/4 t Cumin Seed (optional)
    • 1/8 t Fennel Seeds (optional)
    • 1 Amomum tsao-ko, a.k.a. Cao Guo (optional)
    • 3 Amomum kravanh, a.k.a. White Dou Kou (optional)
  • 5 T Red Pepper Flakes, pulverized
  • 1 T Toasted White Sesame Seeds
  • 1/4 t Sichuan peppercorn
  • 2 T Red Pepper Flakes, pulverized
  1. Infuse oil. Add oil and spices to small, room temperature saucepan. Heat saucepan over low heat. Gently cook 5 minutes until fragrant and the scallion browns slightly.
  2. Strain oil. Strain the oil of all the spices. Return oil to saucepan. Reheat oil over low heat. Remove oil from heat.
  3. Combine ingredients. Add pulverized red pepper flakes to heat-safe bowl. Pour half the hot oil over the pulverized red pepper flakes (note: the mixture will bubble). Add remaining ingredients to mixture. Pour remaining oil over mixture. Stir to combine.

This sauce has many names; usually some variation of Chinese/Szechuan Chili Sauce/Oil.

  1. Luo, Elaine. "Chinese Chili Oil." China Sichuan Food. 19 April 2016. ↩