Where would some of our favourite dishes be without the intense, heady flavour of dried chillies? I remember an early memory watching my Aunt steep dried chillies in a water bath curling out all those wrinkled spiciness. She’ll then pound it with aromatics like garlic, shallots and ginger, perhaps a pinch of belacan if she’s in the mood. And then she’ll throw it in a wok full of hot oil and instantly the kitchen will be infused with the aroma of spicy heat. Unlike fresh chillies, dishes made from dried chillies are more pungent- a little dirtier for want of a better word.

Then there are stir-fry dishes where you use whole crinkled chilli strands to give an added kick. Condiments too benefit from the sultry heat of dried chillies, its sweet potency preserved in oil. However, not all chillies are suited for drying- green chillies are better pickled while peppers with thick skins like jalapenos usually rot before they can be properly dried.

But some chillies are born for this, drying even while hanging out in the fridge. Chillies like red kampong chillies, cayenne and bird’s eye chillies benefit from it, intensifying heat, prolonging cuisine shelf-life and more importantly preserving its heady flavour. Here are our favourite 5 dried chilli dishes.

Kung Pao

Kung Pao- the name alone illustrates the clang of a wok and sizzle of ingredients.

One of the most travelled dishes, it's a mainstay on Chinese eatery and take-out menus. The version that we know well is a Westernised version of an original Sichuan dish. Today, this version is deemed Cantonese since the modern version was popularised by Cantonese run restaurants. It’s a furious stir-fry made with dried chillies, onions, scallions, cashew nuts, a dash of soy sauce, vinegar and sometimes even Worchester sauce. Each establishment has their own way of making kung pao. Done well it is highly satisfying, a gorgeous balance of spicy-sour-sweet with great texture from the nuts. Though chicken is meat of choice, we like our red meats done this way too- the tenderness of the beef or other meats like ostrich are a perfect match for this concoction.

La Zi Ti

Tongue-numbingly good.

I had this dish once and was completely addicted to it henceforth. It’s deep-fried chicken melded with dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. After a while, your tongue gets a little numb from the almost antiseptic-like effect of the peppers, but it’s hard to care because the dish is that good. What happens first is that the chicken is coated in a wet batter made from tapioca flour and ground peppers. Then it's deep-fried first, imbedding peppers intensely in the chicken flesh before a further coating of dried chillies and peppercorns spiciness with a second fry. The version I ate added curry leaves that gave it a delicious fragrance.

"Some chillies are born for drying..."

Andhra Dishes

Smoky and a little moist. A fabulous way of infusing heat into a dish.

Chicken amaravathi that hails from Andhra Pradesh is a lovely dish to eat with ghee rice or briyani. It’s no surprise that this part of the Indian world specialises in all sorts of dried chilli dishes. Afterall, it is a major producer of chilli peppers. This dish is slightly wet, fried with green peppers, chunks of chicken and spices. Dried chillies in this are almost always a little burnt as though they lay it naked on flames to release a smokier texture. Another dish, called Andhra mutton is a little like varuval but cooked with no oil. Crushed bones are fried over a high flame to provide oil before dried chillies and curried spices are fried with it. Indian spices and dried chillies are certainly a marriage made in foodie heaven.

Sambal Goreng

Oh yeah, a good sambal goreng makes my day.

Ahhh… my favourite Javanese dish, full of flavour and a little pungent from the fermented beancurds- this is a complete meal in itself. Some sambal goreng has slivers of tetel, liver and prawns in it but what’s mandatory is tempe, tofu and green beans- the protein-rich bounty of the Java isle. Some serve it a little wet with a splash of santan, others are incredibly dry with glass noodles for texture. Whichever the way, the building blocks of sambal goreng are pounded dried chillies fried till fragrant. Some even toss in dried chillies while stir-frying for added texture.

Crispy Prawn Chilli

I usually bring a bottle of this on long travels to lands of bland food. A tastebud saver.

We salute whoever thought of making it then bottling it. Essentially dried chilli and dried shrimps grinded in oil with some aromatics, it’s good with pretty much everything. You can use it as a basis for fried rice or mix it in with your noodle soup. If you’re feeling skint, just mix it with hot white rice and gobble it down with a simple omelette. A fantastic way to eat this is to mix it up with fresh cucumbers and eat it like a spicy salad or make a sandwich out of it. Seriously, try our Asian-cucumber sandwich, it is superb!

Kung-Pao Beef and La Zi Ti can be specially ordered from Canton Fare. Indian Kitchen serves Andhra Cuisine. For great sambal goreng, you just need to score an invite to a Javanese household and we like the crispy prawn chilli from Tean’s Gourmet.

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