Sichuan sesame oil dip

Ingredientsserves 1

Method

1. Chop the garlic very fine, about a tablespoon, rinse it in clean water and drain it: the bite softens and it does not clump.
2. Put the garlic in a saucer and pour in three tablespoons of sesame oil, roughly three parts oil to one of garlic.
3. Stir in a teaspoon of oyster sauce and a pinch of salt, then add the spring onion, the coriander and a few toasted sesame seeds.
4. This is the saucer for the mala pot: whatever comes out of the spicy broth goes through the oil first, which coats it and takes the edge off the chilli and the heat. Food from the clear side goes to a soy saucer.
5. Raw garlic in oil is not kept: mix it on the night, eat it that night, and throw away what is left rather than keeping it in the fridge for next time.

Take care

• Contains sesame (the oil and the seeds); oyster sauce contains oyster (a mollusc), soy and wheat (gluten).
• Raw garlic sitting in oil is not kept: finish it that night and throw away the rest. A sauce does not make undercooked food safe.

The story

The oil dish is how Sichuan and Chongqing eat their mala hotpot: a saucer of sesame oil and garlic that cools whatever comes out of the pot. Once the mala pot caught on in Hong Kong, the oil dish came to Hong Kong tables with it.

Same kind

Garlic soyChilli soySha cha and soy

Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.