Let’s get the flavour going, add the cinnamon, cardamom pods, star anise, coriander and cumin seeds to pan – medium heat. Heat until you can smell the wonderful fragrances. Remove from heat. Set aside the cinnamon, star anise. Add the cumin, cardamom, Szechuan to a mortar and pestle, crush until fine. Remove the exterior of the cardamom pods.
Heat the pan to medium, add oil, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, garlic, shallot bunch, reduce to slight simmer. Add crushed spices. Followed by roughly chopped whole dried chillies, let the flavours infuse for 2-3 minutes. By this stage the smells are incredible.
Sprinkle over the crushed chilli, followed by sesame seeds and salt. Gently mix together. Let it bubble away to allow the flavours to infuse, approximately 5 minutes. Remove the shallots and bay leaves. It’s up to you if you want to keep the star anise and cinnamon sticks in the oil.
And there you have it, liquid gold! Allow it to cool, store in sterilised glass jars.
*Available in Asian supermarkets, I find dried chilli from normal supermarkets just don’t cut it with flavour or heat factor. If you can’t find an Asian Supermarket, I would add some extra fresh chopped chilli to give it more heat.