Seafood Made Simple: My chilli oil recipe is perfect for salads, rice and these steamed mussels

Fermented hot sauces, crispy chilli oils and hot honeys have become staple condiments within the Irish pantry. The emergence of Lao Gan Ma into the European market was the catalyst for this demand of chilli flavoured oils.
I came across Lao Gan Ma for the first time in 2019, during lockdown, having a little more time on my hands to browse the shelves in the Asian supermarket. It's the original crispy chilli oil, utterly addictive with crunchy fried chillies and MSG.
Tao Huabi opened a noodle shop in the 1990s in Guizhou, China where she served a crisp chilli oil. It became so popular that customers were coming to the restaurant just to buy this sauce and in 1996 the first factory producing Lao Gan Ma was established.
The range has expanded with a variety of ingredients added to this base sauce. You'll find Lao Gan Ma with mushrooms, fermented soya beans, peanuts and even a kohlrabi, peanut and tofu version.
I take immense pleasure in making store cupboard essentials like this myself. They make for fantastic gifts and there is something so satisfying about having a jar of deliciousness like this on your shelf that you've made yourself.
So, I'm sharing a very simple chilli oil recipe, served here with a bowl of Shaoxing wine steamed mussels that you can have a go at making yourself.
I'll use this in salad dressings, over rice and noodle dishes and in dipping sauces. It's excellent with eggs and equally brilliant over steamed fish and vegetables.
Shaoxing wine is key for this bowl of brothy mussels. A fermented rice wine widely used in Chinese cookery it adds a wonderful aromatic and savoury flavour to dishes. You'll find it along with black rice vinegar and Korean chilli flakes at your local Asian supermarket.
Shaoxing steamed mussels with chilli oil
recipe by:Aishling Moore
I use this chilli oil in salad dressings, over rice and noodle dishes and in dipping sauces. It's excellent with eggs and equally brilliant over steamed fish and vegetables.
Servings
4
Preparation Time 
10 mins
Cooking Time 
20 mins
Total Time 
30 mins
Course 
Main
Ingredients For the mussels
1kg mussels
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
6 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1 thumb of ginger, finely sliced
200ml Shaoxing wine
1 bunch of scallions chopped, to garnish
For the chilli oil
500ml vegetable oil
60g gochugaru (Korean chilli flakes)
4 cloves garlic, smashed
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger sliced
2 star anise
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp black rice vinegar
Method
To make the chilli oil, heat a heavy-based saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and bring to 80°C..
Add the ginger and garlic to the oil and cook for eight to 10 minutes until they begin to turn golden brown.
Add the star anise, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick and bay leaves and cook for a further four minutes until fragrant.
Place the chilli flakes in a large heatproof bowl Pass the oil through a heatproof stainer and add to the bowl of chilli flakes. Discard the ginger, garlic, bay leaf, and spices.
Carefully add the vinegar to the chilli oil and allow to stand before storing in a sterile jar.
For the mussels. fill a large bowl with water and add the mussels to the water.
Using a small paring knife remove any barnacles from the shells and the beard of the mussel. The beard is what the mussel uses to attach itself to the surface of which it grows.
Rinse the cleaned mussels in a colander and refrigerate until just before cooking. Heat a heavy-based large pot on medium high heat. Cook the sliced garlic and ginger in the rapeseed oil for one to two minutes. Keep them moving to avoid burning.
Add the mussels to the pot and immediately follow by adding the Shaoxing wine. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot. Give the pot a little shake and leave to cook covered for three minutes.
Remove the lid. All the mussels should be cooked and open at this stage. Discard any that haven't opened. Add a couple of tablespoons of chilli oil and the chopped scallions and serve.
Fish Tales
Mussels should only be cooked when alive, so discard any that have cracked shells or do not close when tapped. They should smell fresh and of the seaside.
It's very important when seasoning shellfish dishes to taste before you add any salt. Mussels are naturally high in salt.
A temperature probe is key for making chilli oil to ensure accuracy and prevent the spices from burning.
Use a pot large enough to fill only halfway when heating large amounts of oil.
Make sure to use a flavourless high smoke point oil for this recipe.
Korean chilli flakes are great for this oil as they are not aggressively hot in flavour.
This oil will keep for weeks in the fridge.
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