In article >,
blake murphy > wrote:

> On Thu, 07 May 2009 09:49:00 -0700, Dan Abel wrote:

> > Hot oil (a pale red liquid with no solids in it) is incredibly cheap and
> > can be found at any Chinese grocery. Put it in your food a drop at a
> > time. If you find it too hot, find someone to give it to or toss it.
> > Whole dried chiles are a little better, but it takes experience to use
> > them. Once I get a dish hot enough for me, it's too hot for my wife.
> > It's just easier for me to add hot oil at the table.
>
> hot oil (and sesame oil) have crept into regular grocery stores in the d.c.
> area, or at least those with an 'asian food' section. probably not as
> cheap, though.

I stopped by the local supermarket yesterday and looked. They had three
hot oils, two of them sesame oil. The bottles were roughly the same
size and price, all over US$4.00 for a few ounces. They did have lots
of kinds of chili paste.

Our nearest Chinese grocery is beyond walking distance, and it's very
small.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA