麻辣紅油 (Tim's chili oil)

You could buy the stuff in a bottle, but it won't taste like mine.  This recipe is essentially making 花椒油 and then using that while still hot to make 辣椒油.  I use a french press and tea kettle so that my kitchen is still clean when I'm done.  Make absolutely sure there isn't any water anywhere on anything during this process or your hands and arms are going to start looking like mine (that is, messed up).

• 4C canola, soybean, or other neutral oil
• 2C crushed dried Sichuan chilies (or whatever crushed dried chilis you can find)
• 1C dried Sichuan peppercorns (no substitute for these exists)

Put the crushed red chilies in the french press.  Put the oil and peppercorns in the tea kettle and start heating up on high heat.  Use the peppercorn color to determine the temperature: they will turn very dark brown, but not black, when the oil is ready and the oil will probably just start releasing a few wisps of smoke.  At this point, remove the oil from the heat.  Pour the oil into the french press: hopefully your tea kettle doesn't suck and not too many of the peppercorns will get poured in.  If it bothers you, pour through a metal strainer.  The cooked chilis will start floating to the surface: use the french press to force them back into the oil.  You know you did everything right when all the chili flakes are floating, all the seeds sank, and the oil is a deep crimson color.  The oil is ready to use in 15 minutes, but will reach optimum flavor after a couple of hours.  It keeps well.

Variation: you can omit the peppercorns and use Korean coarse chili flakes to make an extremely fragrant, almost sweet oil.  Put the chili flakes in the french press as above.  Heat the oil until it just smokes, then remove from heat and wait for the oil to just stop smoking, then pour into the press.  This is necessary because the flavor of Korean chili is much more delicate and it's easier to burn.  Oh yeah, this costs a junk load of money if you use good chili flakes.