Cookbook Club Recipe #4: Three Dishes Made with Fragrant Sichuan Oil (Patreon)

Hello cookbook club members! Welcome to our February collection. Here's the link to the survey form once you've cooked the recipe(s).

A few days ago, I shared a recipe for a fragrant Sichuan-style oil that can be used as the base for a number of other dishes. It's an oil that can be made in a large batch, then stored in the fridge indefinitely as a shortcut to a variety of delicious meals. You can use it for stir-frying, for mixing into salad dressings, for dressing noodles, as the base for a sauce for poached chicken, as a sizzling oil to pour on top of aromatics piled over steamed fish, or as an element of a simple dipping sauce for poached shrimp or dumplings.

Here are three ideas for using that oil, though to be honest, I'm curious to see where your imagination (or your fridge) take you, so feel free to riff and let us know what ideas you came up with and how they worked out.I'm also happy to jump into the comments to discuss the viability of any ideas you may have before you commit to making them, so let's keep those lines of communication open!

If you do make your own dish, here’s a link to submit your creation!

#1: A Creamy, Flavor-Packed, Make-Ahead Sichuan Eggplant Dish (烧椒茄子 / Shao Jiao Qie Zi)

This is one of those dishes that completely recalibrated how I think about eggplant the first time I had it. I was eating at my friend Linda Huang's home in Bozeman, Montana. She runs The Hummingbird’s Kitchen, where she hosts private dinners and cooking classes based on the food of her native Sichuan. She served a cold, dressed eggplant dish that was so fragrant, savory, and quietly intense that I kept going back for “just one more bite” until it was gone.

I called her up afterwards to discuss the dish and its preparation. It's called shao jiao qie zi—literally “charred chile eggplant.” It’s a classic Sichuan liangcai, or cold dish. Instead of being stir-fried or braised, the eggplant is steamed (or sometimes fire-roasted), torn into long shreds, and dressed with a sauce built around charred fresh chiles, garlic, and a sizzling-hot aromatic oil. The eggplant acts like a sponge, soaking everything up and turning custardy and rich.

One of the key things Linda taught me is that, in Sichuan, this dish is traditionally made with fresh green chiles, not dried ones as I've seen occasionally in the US. Ideally you’d use erjingtiao or heaven-facing chiles while they’re still green—but those are almost impossible to find fresh in the U.S. So instead, she suggested using a mix of chiles that are easy to get here: Anaheim for aroma and sweetness, plus jalapeño (or similar) for heat. You can tweak this endlessly. Poblanos, serranos, even all Anaheims—it’s very forgiving.

To cook the chiles, I use the same technique I used in my book, The Wok, for "tiger-skin peppers": roasting the chiles in a dry wok and pressing on them until their skin blisters, cracks, and forms black charred marks that resemble the strips of a tiger. (If you've ever been in Hatch, NM in the summer, you'll recognize that unmistakeable aroma of charred fresh chilies, and if you happen to have a supply of roasted Hatch chilies, they make a great shortcut for this sauce).

Another foundational element is a fragrant oil: neutral oil infused with garlic, scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and warm spices. Once you have that oil in your fridge, dishes like this become almost effortless. Heat the oil until it just starts to smoke, pour it over your chopped aromatics, and you instantly get depth, aroma, and that unmistakable Sichuan character.

The result is a dish that’s savory, lightly spicy, deeply aromatic, and incredibly satisfying—served cold or at room temperature, perfect as an appetizer or alongside a bigger spread. It’s also a great make-ahead dish, which is always a win.

Recipe: Sichuan-Style Dressed Eggplant (Shao Jiao Qie Zi)

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

This is one of those dishes that completely recalibrated how I think about eggplant the first time I had it. After eating a cold, dressed eggplant dish at my friend Linda Huang's Hummingbird’s Kitchen—so fragrant, savory, and quietly intense I couldn’t stop going back for “one more bite”—I became obsessed with understanding how something so simple could taste so deeply satisfying.

Here's the link to the survey form once you've cooked the recipe(s).

What I love about this recipe:

Turns eggplant silky and rich without frying

Big flavor from simple techniques (char + hot oil)

Served cold, so it’s ideal for make-ahead meals

Highly adaptable to whatever chiles you can find

Yield: Serves 4Active Time: 30 minutesTotal Time: About 45 minutes (plus chilling, optional)Notes: Can be served warm, room temp, or fully chilled

Ingredients

For the Eggplant

1½ lb (680g) Chinese, Japanese, or small Italian globe eggplants

For the Chiles & Aromatics

1 large Anaheim chile

1 jalapeño (or similar heat-level chile), more or less to taste

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1–2 teaspoons chopped pickled chiles or chile paste (optional)

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish

For the Dressing

¼ cup (60ml) Sichuan-style fragrant oil (see Notes)

2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce

2 tablespoons (30ml) oyster sauce (or mushroom oyster sauce for vegan)

1 teaspoon (5ml) Chinkiang black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)

1 teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt, to taste

MSG, to taste (optional)

Method

Char the chiles:Heat a dry carbon steel wok over high heat. Add whole chiles and cook, pressing with a stiff spatula or the bottom of a saucepan and turning occasionally, until blistered, wrinkled, and charred all over. Remove and let cool slightly. Trim stems, scrape out most seeds, and finely dice the chiles, keeping the skins. Transfer to a heatproof bowl with the garlic and optional pickled chile.

Steam the eggplant:Cut eggplants into long spears and arrange in a single layer in a bamboo steamer or perforate steamer basket. Set over boiling water, cover, and steam until completely tender and custardy, about 10 minutes. A knife should slide in with no resistance.

Shred the eggplant:Let eggplant cool slightly. Peel skins if desired (optional), then tear or slice flesh into long shreds. Remove any large seed pockets.

Bloom the aromatics:Heat fragrant oil in a wok or small saucepan until just starting to smoke. Carefully pour hot oil over the chile-garlic mixture. Stir immediately.

Finish the dressing:Stir soy sauce, oyster sauce, black vinegar, sugar, salt, MSG (if using), and chopped cilantro into the oil mixture. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Assemble:Arrange eggplant on a plate or in a shallow bowl. Spoon dressing over the top, or toss gently to coat.

Serve:Garnish with more cilantro. Serve warm, room temperature, or chilled.

#2: Perfect Poached Chicken with a Simple Dipping Sauce

When people think of poached chicken, they often think of compromise: pale meat, bland flavor, dry texture. But that reputation comes from bad technique, not the method itself. In Chinese cooking—particularly Cantonese cooking—poached chicken (bai qie ji) is prized precisely because it highlights chicken at its best: tender, juicy, and clean-tasting, with richness supplied by skin, bone, and a deeply aromatic sauce.

For the chicken itself, this recipe borrows directly from the cold-start, low-temperature poaching method developed by my friend Daniel Gritzer at Serious Eats. Instead of dropping chicken into simmering water and hoping for the best, the chicken is gently brought up to temperature alongside the poaching liquid, keeping it in the narrow window where breast meat is fully cooked but still supple and juicy. Bone-in, skin-on breasts work especially well here: the bone moderates heat, the skin protects the meat, and both contribute flavor to the broth.

For the sauce, we take the classic Cantonese cooked ginger–scallion oil and swap the neutral oil for your fragrant Sichuan oil. The result keeps the purity and softness of the traditional sauce, but adds a quiet background of layered aromatics—citrus, spice, warmth—without turning it into chili oil or overwhelming the chicken.

A Note on Food Safety and Low-Temperature Chicken

There’s a persistent misconception that chicken is only “safe” once it reaches 165°F (74°C). That number comes from food-service guidelines designed to be simple and conservative, not precise. In reality, food safety is a function of both temperature and time, a point explored in depth in my work at Serious Eats.

What the USDA actually requires is a 7-log reduction in salmonella (that is, reducing the bacterial population by a factor of ten million). At 165°F, that happens almost instantly. But the same level of safety can be achieved at lower temperatures, as long as the chicken is held there long enough. This is exactly how sous vide cooking works, and it’s also why the gentle, controlled poaching method used here is both safe and produces far juicier chicken.

In this recipe, the chicken is slowly brought up to temperature and held in the 150–160°F (65–71°C) range until the meat itself reaches 150°F. At that point, pasteurization occurs in a matter of minutes—well within the cooking time of the recipe—while avoiding the dramatic moisture loss that happens as chicken approaches 165°F.

Pasteurization times at various temperatures:

165°F (74°C):Pasteurization is effectively instantaneous.

160°F (71°C):Requires about 15 seconds at temperature.

155°F (68°C):Requires about 48 seconds at temperature.

150°F (66°C):Requires about 3 minutes at temperature.

145°F (63°C):Requires about 9 minutes at temperature.

140°F (60°C):Requires about 28 minutes at temperature.

136°F (58°C):Requires about 68 minutes at temperature.

These times refer to how long the chicken must remain at that internal temperature after it reaches it. Because the poached chicken in this recipe heats gradually and is held near its target temperature for an extended period, it comfortably meets (and exceeds) these safety thresholds.

Bottom line: when you control temperature and use a thermometer, chicken cooked to 150°F and held there is fully pasteurized, significantly juicier, and every bit as safe as chicken cooked to 165°F—without the dryness that usually comes along for the ride.

Recipe: Chinese-Style Poached Bone-In Chicken Breast with Ginger–Scallion Oil

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

This one borrows a precise low-temperature poaching method (adapted from Serious Eats) and pairs it with a Cantonese-style cooked ginger–scallion oil, made using my fragrant Sichuan oil instead of neutral oil. The result is chicken that’s juicy, tender, and luxurious, with a sauce that does just enough without getting in the way.

Here's the link to the survey form once you've cooked the recipe(s).

What I Love About This Recipe

Bone-in, skin-on breasts stay far juicier than boneless

Cold-start poaching removes timing guesswork entirely

The sauce is aromatic but restrained (not a chili oil)

Great hot, room temp, or chilled, and even better the next day

Yield: 2 chicken breasts, serving 2 as a main course or 4-6 as part of a multi-course meal

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 45–75 minutes or up to overnight (mostly hands-off)

Notes: Use an accurate thermometer or a sous-vide circulator for best results. You can also make just the sauce and use it to serve with leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken.

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

2 quarts (2L) cold water

1 1/2 tablespoons (20g) kosher salt

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (about 1 1/2 lbs / 680g total)

3 scallions, smashed with the back of a knife

4–5 slices fresh ginger

For the Fragrant Ginger-Scallion Oil

4 tablespoons (about 2) finely minced scallions (mostly white and light green parts)

3 tablespoons (about 30g) finely minced fresh ginger

1/3 cup (about 80ml) fragrant Sichuan oil

Kosher salt to taste

Light soy sauce (optional, for serving)

Method

Cold-poach the chicken:Combine water and salt in a saucepan and stir to dissolve. Add chicken, scallions, and ginger. Set over medium-high heat. Monitor water with an instant-read thermometer. Adjust heat to hold water between 150–160°F (65–71°C). Do not let it simmer. Continue cooking until thickest part of chicken registers 150°F (65°C), 30–60 minutes depending on size. For best results, immediately add a cup of ice cubes and refrigerate overnight.

Alternatively, cook sous vide:

Adjust a sous-vide water bath to 150°F. Season the chicken lightly with salt and seal in a bag with the scallons and ginger. Lower into the sous vide bath and cook for 2 to 3 hours. Transfer to an ice bath to chill.

Make the oil:Combine scallions, ginger, and salt in a heatproof bowl. Heat Sichuan oil until shimmering but not smoking, then pour over aromatics. Stir immediately.

Slice and serve:Slice chicken crosswise through skin, cartilage, and meat (alternatively, remove the meat from the cartilage before sliciing). Arrange on a platter and spoon ginger–scallion oil generously over the top.

To Serve

Serve as-is, or spoon some of the ginger–scallion oil into a small bowl and add a splash of light soy sauce for dipping. Excellent with rice, blanched greens, or cold noodles.

#3: A Pantry-Friendly Chinese-American Noodle Dish

Cold peanut noodles were a staple lunch for me over my summer internships in college. Fast, affordable, plentiful, and delicious, they are a Chinese-American staple based on traditional sesame noodle dishes reinterpreted with American pantry staples. These days, I generally just make them at home. They are one of those dishes that feel almost too easy for how satisfying they are. With a jar of peanut butter, a splash of soy sauce, and—crucially—a good aromatic oil on hand, they come together in the time it takes to boil noodles.

Using my fragrant Sichuan oil as the base does a lot of the heavy lifting here. It brings citrusy peppercorn notes, warm spice, and gentle heat, eliminating the need for bottled chili sauces or additional toasted oils. The result is a sauce that’s rich and nutty but also lively and complex, without being aggressive. (Of course you can always add a dollop of sambal oelek or other chili sauce to up the heat.)

This is also a dish that’s happiest when you treat it as a loose framework rather than a fixed formula. I tend to go light on noodles and heavy on vegetables and protein, turning it into more of a crunchy salad with noodles woven through for texture. Bell peppers, cucumbers, and scallions are great starting points, but almost any crisp vegetable works: cabbage, snap peas, radishes, blanched green beans. For protein, sliced firm tofu or leftover roasted chicken (or rotisserie chicken) are all fantastic.

With the Sichuan oil at hand, this becomes an extremely pantry-friendly meal: fast, adaptable, and deeply satisfying, whether you’re eating it on its own or using it as a side alongside grilled meats or tofu.

Recipe: Cold Peanut Noodles With Fragrant Sichuan Oil

Every recipe I publish here is personally tested, tasted, and approved.

With a jar of peanut butter and my fragrant Sichuan oil on hand, these cold peanut noodles come together fast using mostly pantry staples. Think of it less as a fixed recipe and more as a framework: a creamy, aromatic dressing and whatever crisp vegetables you’ve got in the fridge.

Here's the link to the survey form once you've cooked the recipe(s).

What I love about this recipe:

Built almost entirely from pantry staples

The fragrant Sichuan oil adds depth without overwhelming heat

More vegetables than noodles, but still feels indulgent

Endlessly flexible based on what’s in your fridge

Yield: 4 servingsActive Time: 15 minutesTotal Time: 15 minutesNotes: Serve cold or cool. Best the day it’s made, but holds well for several hours refrigerated.

Ingredients

For the Noodles:

6 to 8 ounces (170–225g) fresh Chinese wheat noodles (see notes)

For the Dressing:

1/2 cup (120g) chunky peanut butter

3 tablespoons (45ml) soy sauce

2 to 3 tablespoons (30-45ml) fragrant Sichuan oil, to taste

1 tablespoon (15ml) Chinkiang black vinegar (or Balsamic)

1 clove garlic, finely grated

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

Warm water, as needed

Hot sauce (such as sambal oelek or sriracha), chili crisp, or crushed roasted chile flakes, to taste

For Assembly (Use Any Combination You Like)

Thinly sliced bell peppers

Cucumbers, seeded and julienned

Shredded cabbage, iceberg, or Romain lettuce

Snap peas or snow peas

Bean sprouts

Scallions, sliced on a sharp bias

Fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, or a mix)

Fresh chilies or jalapeños

Roasted peanuts, roughly crushed

Shredded roasted chicken

Slivered pressed or extra-firm tofu

Poached shrimp

Leftover grilled meats, thinly sliced

Method:

Cook and chill the noodles.Cook noodles according to package directions until just tender. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Agitate until fully chilled, then drain thoroughly.

Make the dressing.In a large bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, fragrant Sichuan oil, vinegar, garlic, and sugar. Add warm water gradually until the dressing is creamy and pourable. Add hot sauce to taste.

Assemble.Add noodles and your chosen vegetables and herbs to the bowl. Toss gently but thoroughly until everything is evenly coated.

Finish and serve.Transfer to a serving bowl, top with crushed peanuts, and taste. Adjust seasoning with more Sichuan oil, soy sauce, sugar, or acid as needed. Serve chilled or at cool room temperature.

Notes and Variations

Noodles: Fresh Chinese wheat noodles are ideal, but 1/4 pound (115g) dried spaghetti, linguine, or fettuccine works well—cook just shy of al dente and rinse thoroughly.

If you do make your own dish, here’s a link to submit your creation!