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Food & Wine Recipe

Ma La Oil

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  • ACTIVE:
  • TOTAL TIME: 30 MIN
  • SERVINGS: about 1 cup
  • •FAST
  • •MAKE-AHEAD

This spicy Sichuan condiment is the secret to Andrew Zimmern’s Cold Peanut-Sesame Noodles recipe.

  1. 3/4 cup roasted peanut oil (See note)
  2. 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
  3. 1 star anise pod
  4. 1/2 small cinnamon stick
  5. 1 small shallot, minced
  6. 1 small garlic clove, minced
  7. 2 tablespoons Sichuan peppercorns
  8. 1/2 cup dried hot Chinese chiles
  9. 1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
  1. In a small saucepan, heat the oil over low heat to 175°. Add the ginger, star anise, cinnamon, shallot, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns and chiles and cook over moderately low heat until the oil reaches 225°. Simmer at 225° for 5 minutes, then transfer to a heatproof jar and let cool. Stir in the sesame oil.
Make Ahead

The Ma La Oil can be kept in a sealed jar at room temperature for up to 1 week.

Notes

Roasted peanut oil, as opposed to neutral peanut oil, smells richly nutty. Boyajin’s Fragrant Peanut Oil is available at specialty markets and from mingspantry.com.