This is a condiment. Set it on the table and use it whenever the mood strikes. I’ve put it on everything from scrambled eggs to tuna salad, but I like it best on plain steamed vegetables.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 1/2 cup
Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed
1/4 cup Szechwan peppercorns (page 369)
6 small dried red chiles, or to taste
1 teaspoon salt
Preparation
Step 1
Combine all the ingredients in a very small saucepan and heat until bubbling. Adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles steadily and cook for about 5 minutes.
Step 2
Let cool and pour into a bowl or jar; you can strain if you like, but it isn’t necessary. Keep for a few days at room temperature, longer if you refrigerate.
The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.
MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
