Homemade Chilli Garlic Oil
Abuja, Nigeria · Voir toutes les recettes
Aperçu
Hot oil poured over garlic and dried chilli, then strained. It is a condiment rather than a dish, and it belongs to East and Southeast Asian cooking, where versions of it are a kitchen staple. The technique is the whole thing, and it hinges on a short window. Oil is heated until shimmering, taken off the heat, and the garlic goes in for ten to thirty seconds only. The residual heat is enough to draw the flavour out; any longer and the garlic burns, which happens fast and produces a bitterness that cannot be removed. Chilli flakes go in after, because they scorch even more readily. Straining is the source's choice and it is a legitimate one, but it is worth knowing it is not the only approach. Chinese chilli crisp and many Southeast Asian versions deliberately keep the solids in, so you get texture as well as flavour. Straining gives you a clear, clean infused oil; leaving it gives you something to spoon over food. Both keep. The flavour improves for a day or two as the oil continues to take on the garlic and chilli, so making it ahead is worthwhile. It has a real African cousin worth mentioning. Ghanaian shito, the dark fried pepper sauce, works on the same principle of chilli cooked into oil, and it has its own recipe on this site.
Ingrédients
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Préparation
- 1
Warm the oil in a small skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.
- 2
Take the pan off the heat, then put in the minced garlic and let it sizzle for 10 to 30 seconds. Watch it closely, burnt garlic turns the whole batch bitter and it happens in seconds.
- 3
Mix in the red pepper flakes and the sesame seeds if you are using them.
- 4
Immediately pour the oil through a fine mesh strainer into a heatproof jar or bowl, which removes the fried garlic and any other solids.
- 5
Let the oil cool to room temperature, then cover and store in the fridge for up to a month.
- 6
Spoon it over noodles, fried rice, dumplings, grilled meats or roasted vegetables.
Notes de l’Africook
Notes personnelles de Deborah Olayiwola- Take the pan off the heat before the garlic goes in. Residual heat is enough, and direct heat will burn it within seconds.
- Watch the garlic constantly. There is no recovering a batch once it has caught, the bitterness carries straight into the oil.
- For mild, use one tablespoon of chilli flakes; for hot, two or three. The heat extracts readily so it is stronger than it looks.
- Skip the straining if you want a chilli crisp rather than a clear oil. Both are legitimate; they are just different condiments.
- Let it sit a day or two before using. The flavour deepens noticeably as the oil continues to infuse.
- Store it cold and covered. Garlic in oil at room temperature is a genuine botulism risk, so the fridge is not optional.
Questions fréquentes
Why take the oil off the heat before adding garlic?
Because garlic burns extremely fast in hot oil, and burnt garlic makes the whole batch bitter in a way that cannot be fixed. Oil that has been heated until shimmering holds more than enough residual heat to extract the flavour in ten to thirty seconds off the heat. Chilli flakes are even more fragile and go in after the garlic. Getting this order right is essentially the entire recipe.
Should I strain it or leave the solids in?
Both are legitimate and they give you different condiments. Straining produces a clear infused oil that drizzles cleanly, which is what this recipe does. Leaving the fried garlic and chilli in gives you something closer to Chinese chilli crisp, crunchy, textured, and spooned rather than poured. If you want the crisp version, use slightly more garlic and chilli, since they become the substance of it rather than just flavouring.
How long does it keep?
About a month in the refrigerator in an airtight container, and it should be kept cold rather than left on the counter. Garlic stored in oil at room temperature carries a real botulism risk, since the oil creates the oxygen-free environment the bacteria need. Refrigeration is the standard precaution and it is not optional. The flavour improves over the first couple of days as the oil continues to infuse.
Is there an African equivalent?
Ghanaian shito is the closest relative, a dark, intensely savoury pepper sauce made by cooking dried chilli with onion, ginger, dried fish and shrimp in oil until it darkens. It works on the same principle of chilli extracted into oil, though it is far more complex and is a sauce rather than an infused oil. It has its own recipe on this site, as does the wider family of African pepper sauces.
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