Cock Brand Chilli Paste with Holy Basil Leaves

The ingredients for Cock™ Chili Paste with Holy Basil are listed on the label as being, in descending quantity order, Soybean Oil, Holy Basil Leaves, Garlic, Red Chili, Sugar, Salt, and Oyster Sauce. The Chili has lent its color to the oil, as you can see in the above picture, and the Holy Basil leaves are large enough to still be identifiable.

The aroma, on opening the jar, is a little hard to describe in that no specific ingredient makes it presence known ahead of any other. In all, it smells a little like a mild XO sauce, but with a very pleasant, almost ’minty’, herbaceous quality.