The market · Fats and oils · Southeast Asia, The Americas

Annatto oil

Oil coloured and flavoured with annatto (achuete) seeds — earthy, peppery and deep gold. It gives chicken inasal and kare-kare their colour.

earthy · peppery · golden

What to do with it

Rosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleAnnatto oil would soften its edgeIbu Sari's Sambal ijoAnnatto oil would soften its edgeKenji Hara's Milk punch, with hojichaAnnatto oil would soften its edge
Classics built on it
FilipinoKare-kareOxtail and tripe stewed in a thick peanut sauce, coloured with annatto, eaten with sharp shrimp paste.No one here has made it yetFilipinoChicken inasalChicken marinated in vinegar, calamansi, lemongrass and ginger, grilled over charcoal and basted with annatto oil.No one here has made it yet

If you can't find it

Make it: it takes five minutes.

  1. 1Annatto seed
    Warm a spoon of annatto seeds in the oil until it turns deep orange, then strain
    You lose nothing.
  2. 2Paprika
    Oil warmed with sweet paprika
    You lose the earthy, peppery note — this gets the colour.

Goes with

garlicchickenpeanutrice

Knowing it

Where to buy
Make it: annatto seeds are at Filipino and Latin American grocers.
Worth knowing
Warm the seeds gently in oil until it turns deep orange, then strain. Don't let them fry, or the oil turns bitter.

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