Black Bean Rāyu by White Mausu

Spicy, sweet, salty, funky. And dangerously addictive. On the nose: chili, garlic, sesame, and something older, deeper. The name says it all. Rā 辣, spicy. Yu 油, oil. In Japanese, rāyu. A close cousin of Chinese chili oils. But here, the secret lies in fermented black beans: small, dark, salty, and still quite rare in European pantries. They are what give the sauce its depth. Then come chili, black sesame, fried garlic, Sichuan pepper, tamari, and a touch of sugar. White Mausu was born in Dublin, founded by Katie Sanderson, a chef born in Hong Kong and raised between Hong Kong and the west of Ireland. Her rāyu also draws on memories of the chili oils of her childhood. We opened the jar and, for two days, put it on everything. Avocado, eggs, noodles, rice. Even mango. Anything that came through the kitchen. By the second day, the first jar was already empty.