I've been on a spicy food kick lately, more than usual, mostly from recipe testing for my cookbook. Many of my meals end up being all heat, such as dan dan noodles and spicy stir-fried shrimp with a dollop of kimchi on the side (I keep a jar in the fridge just to satisfy kimchi cravings, not for recipe testing). But, I rationalize, the more spicy food you eat, the more tolerance for spicy food you build up. So I'm actually bettering myself every day. And that's what January is all about.

Two weeks ago I found myself needing chili oil, on one of those snowy, slushy, windy days that we in the Northeast have been seeing too many of. Chinatown and Sunset Park were too far just for one item, and for some reason neither of the two supermarkets by my apartment had chili oil in stock. I've previously made chili oil in small batches just to use for a specific meal, but decided it would be as good a time as any to make enough for a bottle.

So here's a recipe to try if you, like me, can't find chili oil near your house or just want to have the good homemade stuff without any preservatives. You'll need just 3 ingredients: some peanut oil, sesame oil, and dried red chili flakes (or chopped dried red peppers). You'll also need an oil thermometer (if you have a candy/oil thermometer, you're golden) and a small, heavy-bottomed pot or pan. I use about a third of a cup of dried red chili flakes, which makes a medium-spicy oil that takes a second for your tongue to register, but feel free to adjust the amount to your liking.

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Lately, I've been dissatisfied with the chili sauces I find in stores. Many of them taste of preservatives, and almost all have ingredient lists over 10 items long, including MSG or some offshoot. (Yes, I know MSG isn't that bad for you, but if it's a restaurant staple in Beijing I might as well limit the amount consumed at home.) Chili sauce is such a basic blend, yet store-bought brands contain ingredients decipherable only through a Chinese-English chemical compound dictionary.

So recently I decided to buy a bunch of fresh red chilis and make my own sauces. I used the tiny little bird's eye chilis, but you can also use larger red chili peppers for a milder sauce. I donned plastic gloves and spent half an hour mincing my chilis. (Too many painful incidences of having residual chili oil on my hand when removing contacts made me become extra cautious.) That was the only labor-intensive part. Then I just cooked the chilis with yellow rice wine and dark rice vinegar, stir in some sugar, and seasoned it with a little salt. Done.

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