Add the fennel, coriander, cumin and sesame seeds, sezchuan and black peppercorn to a large dry frying pan and place over a medium heat. Toast the ingredients for a few minutes on a medium heat to dry and release the flavours. Shake the pan regularly and remove from the heat once the sesame seeds are toasted. Add these to a pestle and mortar and give them a grind for a couple of minutes.

Add the ground toasted ingredients into a bowl and add in the star anise, bay leaves, chilli flakes, allspice, pepperberry, fennel pollen and smoked almonds. Stir well and set aside.

Add the ¾ of the oil to a saucepan and add the sliced garlic, cook over a low to medium heat for 30 minutes or until the garlic is toasted and crispy, shake the pan and stir at regular intervals. Strain the garlic through a sieve reserving the oil. Tip the strained garlic onto a tray lined with paper towel or a tea towel and allow to cool and dry out.

Take the reserved oil and add it back into the saucepan with the remaining oil, add in the sliced shallots and again cook over a low to medium heat for up to 30 minutes. Again, we want toasted and crispy shallot slices. Set a sieve over the bowl of dried ingredients from steps 1 and 2 and strain the hot oil onto the spices. Shake and spread the shallots onto the tray with the garlic, spread out and again leave to cool, dry and crisp up. Leave the bowl of spices and oil to cool.

Once the garlic and shallots are cool use your fingers to crush and break them down into smaller crispy bits. Add the crushed garlic and shallots to the cooled spicy oil and stir in. Add the salt, tamari and brown rice vinegar and stir before pouring into jars. This stuff will last for ages in the fridge if you don’t eat it all quickly.