A dark and ominous salty sweet kicking joyride for my tastebuds that absolutely deserves its profane name…
This came about as most of my favourite things do, with a musing to myself about something I’d eaten recently and a wonder if I could recreate something like it. The ‘something’ in this case was a jar of Tonkotsu’s ‘Eat The Bits’ chilli oil given to us by Emma Reynolds of Tonkotsu fame, but it was polished off weeks ago and all I could remember was the sheer amount of chilli flakes suspended in a sesame oil dressing. Undettered, I threw lots of things I like into a jar and shook the hell out of it, and ended up here, exclaiming profanities out loud as I dipped a spoon in and my tastebuds shot off on an exuberant joyride. Sweet, salty, spicy, this made my eyes pop and my tongue sing, and I instantly spooned it over a soft-boiled egg for a sensational snack. It’s hot, but not unbearably so. And I imagine it will only improve with a spell in the fridge to settle and develop, too…
Makes 12 x 1tbsp servings at 7p each
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (3g), 3p
2 fat cloves of garlic, 3p
2 tbsp mirin (or white wine vinegar with ½ tsp sugar), 36p
1 tbsp soy sauce, 10p
40ml groundnut or sesame oil, 13p
100ml sunflower oil, 13p
a pinch of salt <1p
Peel and finely mince your garlic cloves and toss into a jar with the dried chilli flakes. Add the mirin (or white wine vinegar and sugar), soy sauce, and oils. Screw the lid on tight and shake it well. Season to taste, and adjust accordingly – if it’s too acidic for your liking, add another splash of oil. If it’s not harsh enough, another drop of vinegar – dressings are curious beasts and we all taste them slightly differently, so use my list as a guide but don’t beat yourself up if you deviate. And that’s it. Store in the fridge as there’s scaremongering about botulism re things stored in oil, and you can’t be too careful. Says me with the three day old stock in the previous post.
All ingredients purchased at Sainsburys with the exception of dried chillies, which I picked up in my local Tesco Express for far cheaper than the Sainsbugs offering…
Tesco East End Chilli flakes 75p/75g. Sainsburys basics garlic 35p/2 bulbs. Sainsburys Mirin £1.79/150ml. Sainsburys light soy sauce 95p/150ml. Sainsburys groundnut oil £1.65/500ml. Sainsburys sunflower oil £4/3l. Sainsburys Basics table salt 25p/750g.
Jack Monroe. I’m on Twitter and Instagram @MsJackMonroe. If you like this then there’s a few hundred other recipes on this here blog, and books available to buy from lots of places but do consider supporting independent book shops and small businesses by buying from Hive Stores; check them out here: http://www.hive.co.uk/book/a-girl-called-jack-100-delicious-budget-recipes/18105011/