Asian-influenced avocado toast with chilli oil

I often get recipes from friends and nothing makes me happier. I am always impressed by the creativity and foresight in putting very diverse ingredients together beautifully. This recipe is a perfect example of a lovely dish that I would have never imagined.

Chilli crisp is a Chinese condiment that is today quite commonly available. I was introduced to chilli oil about 4 years ago in a Chinese restraint in San Francisco and there is always a bottle, or two, in my pantry. I now look, or ask, for the crisp hot sauce in restaurants rather than the other soggy chilli sauces. This fiery sauce is essentially a mix of spices, chillies and Sichuan peppercorns cooked till crisp in oil. It is bold, bright red and beautiful. It is supposed to have been created by Lao Gan Ma in Guizhou, China and is one of the most widely used sauces across China, especially in the Sichuan province.

There are several Chinese-style chilli oils in the market and you can use any of them. Indra Gill likes to use Momofuku chilli crunch oil, or Fly by Jing chilli crisp. I like to use Laoganma spicy chilli crisp which is available in India on Amazon.

This recipe is super simple, essentially an assembly job, but the results are spectacular. The creamy avocado explodes with flavours from the chilli crisp. The Sichuan peppercorns begin to numb your palate while the avocado adds a lovely smoothness to the dish. Yes, you will need to make a dozen of these to be happy.

Indra Gill and I chat in a common school group and I love hearing her voice on food and all that she is doing. She previously contributed a lovely recipe for Roasted raw tamarind with chilli and salt. Thank you for this amazing recipe.

Ingredients:

Sourdough bread slices, toasted if desired

Avocado, thinly sliced

Chilli oil, see the note above

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Toast the bread slices if desired. Layer with avocado slices. Drizzle some chilli oil on top. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Serve immediately.