Fried Skewer Sauce

Ingredients

• 60 g Dried chilli powder (coarse and fine)
• 20 g Cumin powder
• 10 g White pepper powder
• 15 g Five-spice powder
• 20 g Salt
• 15 g Sichuan pepper powder
• 8 g Chicken stock powder
• 5 g Thirteen-spice blend
• 5 g Numbing-spicy seasoning
• 30 g White sesame seeds
• Hot oil
• 10 ml Sesame oil
• 10 ml Soy sauce
• 10 ml Sichuan pepper oil
• 10 ml Oyster sauce

Method

Toast all dry ingredients — both the chilli powders, cumin, white pepper, five-spice, Sichuan pepper, chicken stock powder, thirteen-spice and numbing-spicy seasoning — in a dry wok over medium heat for two to three minutes, stirring constantly. You're looking for the first wisp of smoke and a sharp, toasted aroma. This spice-blending step matters: raw spice powders taste dusty and flat; toasting opens their volatile oils and deepens their colour from matt to glossy. Add the sesame seeds last and watch them pop and brown — they burn fast. Tip everything into a heatproof container and let it cool for five minutes.

The aromatics are coaxed alive by heat, not drowned in it. Pour hot oil — around 80–90°C, not smoking — over the spice mixture in three equal additions, stirring hard after each pour. The oil should bubble gently and smell immediately of toasted chilli and cumin; if it's silent, it's too cool. Stagger the additions so the spices hydrate evenly and the bottom doesn't burn whilst the top stays raw. This isn't deep-frying — you're tempering the powders, letting them bloom in oil without becoming harsh or bitter. After the final pour, keep stirring for another minute until the mixture shifts from dry to a loose, shiny paste.

Once it's cooled to warm, add the sesame oil, soy sauce, Sichuan pepper oil, and oyster sauce in quick succession, mixing thoroughly. The soy and oyster sauce contribute umami depth and bind the spices into a cohesive condiment; the sesame oil adds richness without overpowering. The result should be a loose, glossy sauce with visible flecks of chilli and sesame — not a homogenous paste. Taste it: it should hit you with numbing heat from the Sichuan pepper first, followed by the dry warmth of cumin and chilli, then a savoury, salt-forward finish.

Use it warm or at room temperature. Pour it over hot skewers just before eating so the heat reawakens the spice oils and the sauce clings to the meat rather than pooling at the base of the plate.