Ingredients

¼ cup crispy fried shallots
3 tbsp crispy fried garlic
3 whole star anise
4 green cardamom pods, crushed
2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp sea salt
2 chicken stock cubes, crumbled
8 garlic cloves, finely sliced
3 cups vegetable oil

Directions

Place the dried chillies in a food processor and give them a blitz until they’re roughly chopped. Next, transfer them to a sieve with medium-sized holes (you want them large enough for the chilli seeds to fall through). Holding it over a large tray, give the sieve a good shake so that the majority of the chilli seeds fall out, leaving the chopped dried chili pieces in the sieve. You may still have some seeds left in the sieve, which is fine. Discard the chilli seeds on the tray.

Pour the chopped chillies into a large heat-proof bowl. Now bung in your fried shallots, fried garlic, star anise, cardamom pods, ginger, sugar, salt and stock cubes. Set aside for later.
Heat your oil

In a small saucepan, add the garlic and oil then place over a medium heat. Allow the oil to heat up and start sizzling. Gently continue cooking the garlic for another 2-3 minutes or until the garlic is just golden. Turn the heat off and allow the oil to cool for 2-3 minutes. Then carefully pour the warm oil over the chilli mixture. Mix until well combined.

Transfer the chilli oil mixture into jars and leave to cool.

Store it in the fridge for up to two months.