I didn't cook much today - finished off some leftovers, which I always have in the fridge, so I will have to cook soon! lol
But I did replenish an ingredient that I
always have on the door of the fridge - hot oil! My method is to crush up some Thai peppers - about 2 1/2 oz, or about 1 1/4 cups, and put them in a bowl. Then, in a 3 qt saucepan (a 2 qt might be too small, as this foams up), heat a little over a pint (the bottle is a pint bottle, and the peppers absorb a little of the oil, so I weigh out 17.5 oz) of vegetable oil to 420° - not canola, as this hardens when cold, like olive oil. I then take the pot outside, as even with my commercial style range hood, the fumes can get bad! (Sometimes I'll use the side burner on the grill, if that is uncovered). After putting it on a brick, or something safe for the heat, I dump the crushed peppers in, then run!
The temperature of the oil is enough to caramelize the peppers, and give the oil a delicious flavor, but not so hot they burn, since it cools, from the peppers cooking. Here are the darkened peppers, still cooking in the oil:
Crushed peppers added to 420 degree oil, for Chinese hot oil. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
When totally cooled, I strain it first through a fine metal strainer, let that totally drain into the bowl, then I strain it through this ultra-fine strainer. It slows toward the end, but all the oil goes through:
Second straining of the hot oil. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished hot oil. by
pepperhead212, on Flickr
This year, I used all Jyoti peppers - an Indian pepper, much like the Thai peppers I grow, and when I used them in similar dishes, about the same heat, around 60-70k. The good flavor it gave in this was very similar, too, with the caramelizing of the peppers in the oil.
Tomorrow, I will replenish my other go to hot sauce I always keep on the door of the fridge -
Nam Pla Prik, which is a bunch of Thai peppers chopped up, put in a jar, and fish sauce added to it, to be permeated by the flavor and heat of the peppers. It can be refilled with fish sauce a few times, but eventually, the peppers need replacing.
As much as I love peppers, I've never been a fan of vinegar based hot sauces.