Nightshade Chili Oil
Chinese chili oil is traditionally made by pouring hot oil over dried chili flakes. This version substitutes dehydrated Nightshade eggplant — the result is a chili oil with a richer, more umami base note and 50,000 SHU of engineered heat.
Prep
15 min
Cook
20 min
Total
35 min
Servings
16
Peak SHU
50K
Featured Organisms
Ingredients
- 1 cup neutral oil (grapeseed or peanut)
- ½ cup dehydrated Nightshade eggplant (SS-EGG-02), crumbled
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
Instructions
- 1
Toast sesame seeds in a dry pan. Set aside.
- 2
Place crumbled eggplant, salt, and sugar in a heatproof bowl.
- 3
Heat oil with star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and Sichuan peppercorns to 350°F (175°C).
- 4
Remove spices with a slotted spoon.
- 5
Pour ⅓ of the hot oil over the eggplant. It should sizzle. Stir.
- 6
Wait 30 seconds. Pour another third. Wait. Pour the rest.
- 7
Stir in toasted sesame seeds. Let cool to room temperature.
- 8
Transfer to jars. Improves over 24 hours.
Tips
- Eclipse eggplant (250K SHU) for a dangerously hot oil.
- Drizzle on dumplings, noodles, eggs, or rice.
Oil extraction is the most efficient method for capsaicin isolation — capsaicin's partition coefficient heavily favors lipid phases. The staged pouring (three additions of hot oil) prevents scorching the capsaicinoids while ensuring thorough extraction.