How to Make Chili Paste a.k.a "Cili Boh"

If you are a fan of Asian recipes, particularly South East Asian recipes, this homemade chilli paste is a very handy basic to have in your fridge. So many recipes call for a tablespoon here, a teaspoon there of chilli paste and rather than grinding it up from scratch or substituting it with fresh chillies, etc, make this paste, keep it in the fridge and not only will you have a time saving ingredient on your hands but your final dish will have a deeper, more well rounded flavour than when using fresh chillies.

The key to this homemade chilli paste is in the frying (tumis, in Malay) of the paste. The longer the cooking time, the deeper the flavour and I usually cook mine for about an hour.

There are so many ways to use this recipe, whether to make Nasi Goreng (Malay or Indonesian Fried Rice), Mee Goreng (Malay or Indian Fried Noodles) or to use it to marinate anything. I love having it as a condiment too, much like a dipping sauce or sambal, because that’s what it is, a sambal! Fancy a twist to your usual roast or spuds? Well, use a little of this to add a kick or with barbecue season almost upon us, as mentioned before, this is the perfect spicy marinade.

It is a pretty spicy paste, so when using this homemade chilli paste in another recipe, a small amount goes a long way. I love making a large batch and storing it in a sterilized jar (straight out of a dishwasher will do) for easily up to a month. And guess what? It makes the perfect gift for a foodie friend.

TIP: A chopper, blender or food processor is a must for this as all the ingredients are processed together, then fried.

Ingredients for homemade chilli paste

1. 100g dried red chilli, cut (with scissors) and soaked in hot water for about 20 minutes
2. 2 medium onions, chopped
3. 10 cloves garlic
4. 4 candlenuts or 5 macadamia nuts
5. 1 tsp palm or white sugar
6. Water as needed
7. 100ml vegetable oil for frying

Method

1. Drain the chillies and place everything apart from the oil, in a blender/food processor with enough water to get a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a deep wok or saucepan, then fry the chilli paste on medium heat initially for about 5 minutes until fragrant.
3. Lower the heat and cook for about an hour, stirring every now and then.
4. Let cool and store in a clean jar in the fridge, lasts up to a month. You can even freeze until needed, in ice cube trays would be perfect, as you can use a little at a time as needed.