SICHUAN HOTPOT RECIPES

Steps:

• "1. Mash the black beans with 1 tablespoon of the Shoaling wine, either with a mortar and pestle or in a food processor, until you have a smooth paste. Wash the ginger and cut it into slices about the thickness of a coin. 2. Snip all the chiles into halves or into 1-inch sections with a pair of scissors, and discard as many seeds as possible. Heat 2 tablespoons of the peanut oil in a wok over a medium flame until it is hot but not smoking. Add all the chiles and stir-fry them briefly until they are crisp and fragrant, taking great care not to burn them (the oil should only sizzle gently around the chilis). Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour the cooking oil into a separator container and set aside. Give the wok a quick rinse and dry it thoroughly. 3. Place the beef drippings and the rest of the peanut oil into a wok and heat over a gentle flame until the drippings have melted completely. Then turn the heat up to medium. When the oils are just beginning to smoke (250-300F), add all the chili bean paste and stir-fry for a minute or so until the oil is richly red and fragrant. The paste should only sizzle gently--take great care not to burn it (you can switch off the heat for a few seconds if its in danger of overheating).When the oil has reddened, add the mashed black beans and the ginger and continue to stir fry until they are fragrant. Then pour in about 1 1/2 quarts of the stock and bring it to a boil. (The rest of the stock will be used for topping up the hotpot as you eat). 4. When the liquid comes to a boil, add the rock sugar and the rest of the Shaoxing rice wine, with the fermented rice wine if you have it, and salt to taste. 5. Finally, add the prepared chilis and Sichuan pepper according to taste and leave the broth to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until it is wonderfully spicy. Serve with dipping ingredients: Chinese sausage cut into short sections, thinly sliced chicken breasts, thinly sliced pork tenderloin, thinly sliced lean beef or lamb, sliced cooked meats of all kind, thickly sliced smoked bacon thickly sliced firm bean curd, soaked until soft dry bean curd, whole shiitake, oyster, button, or enoki mushrooms, large flat mushrooms cut into chunky slices, any other kind of fresh mushroom, wood ear, cloud ear, or Chinese dried mushrooms presoaked in hot water for at least 30 minutes Peeled and thickly sliced Asian turnips or radishes, cleaned and thickly sliced lotus roots or potatoes soaked in lightly salted water, water spinach cut into lengths, whole soybean sprouts, cauliflower florets, broccoli florets, peeled deseeded winter melon in thick slices, Fresh squid in bite sized pieces, shelled prawns Dip in: 2 tablespoons peanut oil, 2-3 teaspoons sesame oil, 1-2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic, salt to taste"

Steps:

• Make the base stock by combining beef or pork bones or chicken skeleton with water, ginger, scallion, bay leaves. Bring to boil then simmer for 3 hours. Alternatively, season with the bouillon of your choice to skip the 3 hours of boiling bones.
• To make the aged-spicy paste, chop the Szechuan Spicy Bean Paste, soaked dry chili, ginger, garlic, and black bean. Combine 4 tbsp of oil and all the chopped ingredients, cook in low heat for 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Add the rest of the dry spices and cooking wine and sugar to the paste. Continue to cook in low heat for another 30 minutes then turn off the heat.
• Before serving the hot pot, combine the aged-spicy paste with base stock and bring to boil. Add additional ginger, dried chili, and salt to taste.
• Enjoy the spicy goodness!