Homemade Fried Red Oil Chili Bean Paste

Steps

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1. 1
   Pour raw rapeseed oil into a wok and heat over high heat to about 230°C, near its smoke point. Switch to low heat and hold for 30-40 seconds to cook off the oil's raw pungency, then turn off heat and let it cool. This step can be skipped if using a more refined, mass-produced oil.
   ▶ ≈3:06
2. 2
   Once the oil has cooled, add the oil-less packaged Pixian doubanjiang (about 100g per half cup of oil) and fry over low heat for about 10 minutes, until the oil turns red and the chili peppers curl slightly and lighten a bit in color.
   ▶ ≈4:31
3. 3
   Let the fried paste cool, then transfer it to a clean jar for storage. This completes the basic homemade fried red oil chili bean paste, ready to use in Sichuan dishes.
   ▶ ≈5:00
4. 4
   To boost the color, choose one of three approaches: 1) mix in roughly half the amount of a red chili powder such as Kashmiri chili powder or gochugaru; 2) combine your home-fried paste half-and-half with store-bought red oil chili bean paste for both depth and color; or 3) fry up your own custom blend using different ages of doubanjiang.
   ▶ ≈5:39
5. 5
   For the advanced version: combine three parts hongyou doubanjiang, three parts 1-year Pixian doubanjiang, and one part 3-year Pixian doubanjiang (a 1:1 ratio is also a classic option).
   ▶ ≈6:49
6. 6
   Prepare a quarter of an onion and about 3 inches of smashed ginger, along with a spice mix moistened with baijiu or vodka.
   ▶ ≈7:22
7. 7
   Cook one cup of rapeseed oil the same way as before and let it cool. Add the onion and ginger and fry over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then add the liquor-moistened spice mix and continue cooking for another 5 minutes until the onion turns golden brown. Strain out the solids, keeping only the flavored oil.
   ▶ ≈7:40
8. 8
   Return the flavored oil to the wok and add the blended doubanjiang mixture (90g hongyou doubanjiang, 90g 1-year doubanjiang, 30g 3-year doubanjiang). Fry over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until it turns red and fragrant, then remove from heat to finish the advanced homemade red oil chili bean paste.
   ▶ ≈8:03