I use Korean red pepper flake, the same type I use in my kimchi, and it had provided fabulous results. I generally build on flavours like spring onions and lots of garlic first, pulling them out before leaving black cardamom Sichuan green chilis (for a more woody note) star anise cinnamon and coriander seed for a brighter aroma. I also mix black vinegar and salt in with the chilis first before decanting the seasoned oil atop them. I make a litre at a time but can't ever keep it in the house. The whole effort is 1-2 hours but its mostly just watching the garlic and onion and making sure to pull it out before it burns. The decanting doesn't generate smoke or anything troublesome but beware, the smell of chili oil will permeate the kitchen for about three days.
Chili Oil Notes
11–20 of 164 posts
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#12[flagged]
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#13With regard to the health risks many comments note, I wonder how many natural (collaborative, so to speak) ingredient mixes might contribute to positive food safety despite the known threats.
For example, I had a roommate who would cook salmon in a tomato sauce and leave it to sit overnight. From my background, this sounded like obvious death, but he assured me it was a common recipe in South Africa. I did try it, and it was delicious. I had no adverse reactions after eating it (a full day after it was cooked and left sitting in the pan).
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#14> I’ve also thought about doing a really low and slow extraction, say by using a sous vide machine. You do run into food safety issues, since the chilies can contain botulism. Sous vide was my first thought, since that avoids the evaporation and oxidation that decreases the intensity of the low and slow method. However I don't think botulism is any more of a concern here than any other sous vide dish and high heat do…
Yeah I might give it a shot (although I gave away my sous vide machine). But low and slow isn't always better for extraction. Coffee for instance extracts more with a fast infusion versus cold brew.
Coffee extraction usually happens in a closed vessel where the volatiles aren’t as exposed to air and can’t as easily evaporate. The advantage of sous vide isn’t just the cooking temperature but the fact that the ingredients are completely sealed. It has a significant impact on many ingredients like chicken or carrots, which can stew in their own juices instead of reducing.
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#15With regard to the health risks many comments note, I wonder how many natural (collaborative, so to speak) ingredient mixes might contribute to positive food safety despite the known threats. For example, I had a roommate who would cook salmon in a tomato sauce and leave it to sit overnight. From my background, this sounded like obvious death, but he assured me it was a common recipe in South Africa. I did try it, an…
Why would this concern you more than anything else? If you cook the fish, it's not going to "go bad" as quickly as if it were raw. If you cook anything to a particular temperature and time, it should kill most bacteria in it. Then the acidity of the tomato should help resist bacterial growth a wee bit longer than something pH-neutral. On top of all this, "obvious death" from bacteria in food is some serious hyperbole; it's quite rare to die of food poisoning.
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah I might give it a shot (although I gave away my sous vide machine). But low and slow isn't always better for extraction. Coffee for instance extracts more with a fast infusion versus cold brew.
Coffee extraction usually happens in a closed vessel where the volatiles aren’t as exposed to air and can’t as easily evaporate. The advantage of sous vide isn’t just the cooking temperature but the fact that the ingredients are completely sealed. It has a significant impact on many ingredients like chicken or carrots, which can stew in their own juices instead of reducing.
That’s not necessarily true. A clever dripper does open air infusion and works great. Ditto with pour overs. But perhaps with oil more volatile aroma compounds are released? Either way the only solution is to try it!
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#17[flagged]
Totally agree. It’s sad and they’ve lost the pulse of life and art
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#18With regard to the health risks many comments note, I wonder how many natural (collaborative, so to speak) ingredient mixes might contribute to positive food safety despite the known threats. For example, I had a roommate who would cook salmon in a tomato sauce and leave it to sit overnight. From my background, this sounded like obvious death, but he assured me it was a common recipe in South Africa. I did try it, an…
Why would this concern you more than anything else? If you cook the fish, it's not going to "go bad" as quickly as if it were raw. If you cook anything to a particular temperature and time, it should kill most bacteria in it. Then the acidity of the tomato should help resist bacterial growth a wee bit longer than something pH-neutral. On top of all this, "obvious death" from bacteria in food is some serious hyperbole…
> it's quite rare to die of food poisoning.
I’d go so far as to say it’s virtually unheard of for healthy adults to die of food poisoning from cooked food going bad*. It’s mostly children, the elderly, and the immunocompromised that are at risk. The fast majority of microbes that cause food born illness are really common in our environments and we’ve built up plenty of immunity.
* fecal contamination and other toxins like paralytic shellfish poisoning are another matter
Re: Chili Oil Notes
#19There's another kind of chilli oil, pressed from Hungarian spicy paprika/capsicum seeds: https://rubinpaprika.com/magolajok/fuszerpaprika-magolaj-csi...
It has a deeply nutty flavor and the spiciness is a bit sneaky, but it's a great addition to finishing oils.