Crispy Chili Pepper Sauce

Votes: 1

Time: 1 hour 20 min.
Complexity: easily
Quantity: 300 ml.

This Chinese hot sauce with garlic, spices, and crisp chili peppers has gained many fans far beyond China, but it can be difficult to find for sale outside of China. Make your own homemade version of this crispy sauce and use it on everything from meat to ice cream.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

1.5 cups of vegetable oil
1/4 cup fermented black beans (see Note)
1 tsp. Sichuan pepper
8 cardamom pods
5 star anise
4 cinnamon sticks
10 cm ginger root, thinly sliced (do not peel)
0.5 cups of kochukaru
2 tbsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp Kashmiri red chili pepper
1 teaspoon of sugar
0.5 tsp. monosodium glutamate
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup chopped onion

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: cardamom, star anise, Sichuan pepper, chili oil, ginger root, cinnamon

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Combine the vegetable oil, black beans, Sichuan peppercorns, cardamom pods, 4 star anise, 3 cinnamon sticks, and all but 1 slice of ginger in a large saucepan. Heat over medium-low heat until the oil reaches 120°C (250°F), about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let steep for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a medium heatproof bowl, combine the gochukara, red pepper flakes, Kashmiri chili, sugar, MSG, garlic, remaining anise, cinnamon sticks, ginger slice, and 1 teaspoon salt.

Strain the spiced oil through a fine sieve into the dry chili mixture and stir. Discard the oil-soaked whole spices. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. The flavor will develop and intensify as the chili infuses. Serve when completely cool.
Store in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 1 month.

Note

If you can't find fermented black beans, substitute them with 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, adding it at the very end. The sauce won't be as crispy, but the flavor will be the same.

Gochukaru is a Korean dried red chili flake with a spicy, smoky flavor.

Kashmiri red chili peppers are milder in flavour and are often used to add a vibrant red colour to dishes.