Over Rice: Sichuan Edition
Swinging over to the Sichuan province for more rice killers. (凉拌榨菜/鱼香烘蛋/芹菜碎牛肉)
Liangban Zhacai (凉拌榨菜, a Zhacai cold dish)
Ingredients:
Zhacai (榨菜), 1 pack, 80g
Garlic (大蒜), 1 clove, minced
Cilantro (芫荽), 1 sprig, chopped
Toasted white sesame seeds (熟白芝麻), 1 tsp
Sugar, 1/4 tsp
Dark Chinese vinegar (陈醋 or 香醋), 1/2 tsp
Toasted sesame oil (麻油/香油), 1/2 tsp
Process:
Unpack the zhacai, mix with everything, and done.
Fish Fragrant Omelette (鱼香烘蛋)
Ingredients:
Eggs, 4
To mix with the eggs:
Cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp
Water, 1 tbsp
Vinegar (醋), 1/4 tsp
Lao Gan Ma "pickled chili" OR Hunan Chopped Chili OR Sichuanese Pickled Erjingtiao (糟辣椒 or 剁椒 or 泡二荆条), 1 heaping tbsp or 20g. Finely minced.
Aromatics:
Ginger (姜), half inch or 5g. Minced.
Garlic (大蒜), 3-4 big cloves or 10g. Minced.
Scallion (小葱), 1 sprig or 12-15g. Separate the white and green, mince the white and slice the green.
Sauce:
Soy sauce (生抽/酱油), 2 tsp
Chinese dark vinegar (陈醋 or 香醋), 2 tsp
Sugar, 2 tsp
Salt, 1/4 tsp
MSG (味精), 1/4 tsp
Potato starch (生粉/土豆淀粉), 1/2 tbsp
Water, 1/2 cup
Mince the pickled chili and aromatics, mix the sauce, set aside.
Mix starch with water and vinegar, crack in the eggs, whisk until foamy.
To stir fry, first longyau: get your wok piping hot, shut off heat, add in ~3 tbsp of oil and give it a swirl. Heat the oil until a drop of egg could puff up immediately when added in, or until rapidly bubbling around a pair of chopsticks.
Pour in the egg. Once it begins to set, start pushing the set parts on the edges towards the center in order to form layers. Repeat this motion, and once there is no more liquid egg remaining, gently flip and fry the other side for about 2 minutes. Trasnfer the egg omelette to a serving plate.
Same wok, add in one more tablespoon of oil. With the heat on low, add in the pickled chili, and fry until oil is stained red. Then, add in the aromatics, and fry for ~1 minute. Add the ‘sauce’. Turn the heat to high, stirring as it comes to a boil and thickens. Once you’ve reached the desired consistency, add in most of your scallion and stir.
Ladle sauce onto the omelette, sprinkle on the remaining scallion.
Minced Celery with Beef (芹菜碎牛肉, aka “THE DISH”)
Ingredients:
Beef loin (牛里脊), 150g. Hand minced.
Marinade for the beef:
Dark soy sauce (老抽), 1/4 tsp
Liaojiu aka Shaoxing wine (料酒/绍酒), 1 tsp
Salt, 1/8 tsp
Cornstarch (生粉), 1/2 tsp
Celery (western 西芹 or Chinese 香芹), 220g. Cut into a ~1/2 cm dice.
Salt, 1/4 tsp. To purge the celery.
Sichuan chili broad bean paste, i.e. Pixiandoubanjiang (郫县红油豆瓣酱), 1 tbsp or 15g
Aromatics:
Ginger (姜), half inch or 5g. Minced.
Garlic (大蒜), 3-4 big cloves or 10g. Minced.
Sauce for finishing the stir fry:
Soy sauce (生抽/酱油), 1/2 tbsp
MSG (味精), 1/4 tsp
Cornstarch (生粉), 1 tsp
Water, 2 tbsp
Process:
Hand mince the beef. First slice into a dish, then mince for ~5 minutes. Mix with the marinade and set aside.
Peel off the fibrous outer layer off the western celery. Separate the leaves from the remainder of the celery. Dice the celery, roughly chop the leaves. Set the leaves aside.
Mix the diced celery with the 1/4 tsp salt, and purge for 10 minutes. After that time, squeeze the celery to expel as much water as possible.
Mince the aromatics and make the sauce.
In a wok over a medium high flame, add in ~2 tbsp of oil and give it a swirl. Add in beef, quickly break it up. Fry it until the color's changed and the beef is cooked.
Turn off the flame and scooch the beef to the side. Add in another 1 tbsp of oil together with the chili bean paste. Fry on low heat for ~1.5 minute until the oil is stained red.
Add in the aromatics, fry for ~1.5 minute till fragrant, mix beef back in. Turn heat on high, quick fry. Add in celery, another super brief fry, add in the stir fry sauce. Quick mix.
Heat off, add in celery leaves, mix and out.