Green Onion Oil

My go-to.

Ingredients

• Neutral oil
• Green onions, whites only.
• Lard - optional

Equipment

• small saucepan

Method

Cut your aromatics up as uniformly as reasonably possible. Put them in the pot with enough cold oil to just cover, and turn the heat on low.

Allow the aromatics to brown just a little, and then decant into your storage through a sieve, to remove the green onion whites. If you're using the lard, add it to the oil now to dilute 30%-50%. This will make it nearly solidify in the fridge, but it will still be soft.

The whites can be used to make scallion oil noodles immediately.

Mayu - Black Garlic Oil

This one will make your house smell of garlic for a week. Cook with the windows open, or outside.

Ingredients

• 15 cloves of garlic, peeled, and minced
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup sesame oil

Equipment

• small saucepan
• large bowl with ice-water
• pestle and mortar or blender

Method

1. Take the garlic cloves and throw them into a food processor. Process until finely minced (around 1/8th inch pieces). You can also mince finely by hand, though avoid turning the garlic into a paste.
2. Spread the mince on a paper towel and squeeze as much moisture out as possible. Replace paper towels until little to no moisture escapes. This is going to help you dry your mince out when you cook it, and that's important for suspending the particulate in the oil at the end.
3. Heat your oil on the stove, and when warm, add your aromatics. You can test this by throwing a small amount of your garlic into the oil and seeing if it sizzles.
4. Cook, on medium to medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the garlic takes on a dark brown, almost black color, and the oil begins to smoke, around 15-20 minutes.
5. Strain the solids, reserving the oil, and then lay the solids on more paper towels to remove excess oil. This is once again to keep things as dry and brittle as possible. You should be left with garlic pieces that you can crumble into dust between your fingers.
6. Add your solids only to a mortar and pestle, and mash until the oil within them begins to escape and the contents turn into a uniform paste. This takes around 5 minutes.
7. Once the paste is smooth, with no visible grit, add the reserved oil from step 6 to thin the mayu to your liking and mix fully.
8. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. If not using immediately, keep in the fridge for up to 6 months.