beancurd, mashed
½ cup (125 ml) light soy sauce
½ cup (125 ml) red rice vinegar
½ cup (125 ml) Chinese rice wine
¼ cup (60 ml) chili oil (page 47)
4 tablespoons pickled garlic
Bunch of cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped
Slice the lamb paper thin, leaving on a little of the fat (this is typical in Beijing, but can be omitted if preferred). Roll up the slices and arrange on a plate. Put the beancurd and cabbage on separate plates, and divide the soaked vermicelli among 6 individual soup bowls.
Arrange all dips and garnishes in small bowls and place on the table for diners to use according to taste.
Heat all stock ingredients in a pan, then carefully transfer to a hotpot. Bring back to a boil. Each diner cooks his own portions of meat, beancurd, and cabbage, seasoning them afterwards with the dip of his choice, accompanied by pieces of pickled garlic and cilantro. When all the ingredients are used, the rich stock is poured into the soup bowls over the noodles and eaten as a final course.
Hei Jiao Niu Rou
Beef with Black Pepper
Simple and quick to prepare, this Sichuan dish tastes like a flavor-enhanced version of Western black pepper steak, with Sichuan peppercorns adding a distinctive difference.
8 oz (250 g) beef fillet, trimmed and cut in I-in (2 ½-cm) cubes
2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
Oil for deep-frying
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 teaspoons coarsely crushed black peppercorns
1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns
2 teaspoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sliced lettuce for garnish
Put beef in a bowl and sprinkle with wine, water, salt and white pepper. Massage well for about 30 seconds until all the liquid is absorbed by the beef.
Heat oil and deep-fry the beef over very high heat for 30 seconds. Drain and set aside. Tip out all but 1 teaspoon of oil and stir fry the garlic for a few seconds, then add the beef and all other ingredients, except for the lettuce. Stir-fry for a few seconds until well mixed and serve immediately on a bed of shredded lettuce.
HELPFUL HINT
If using a charcoal hotpot for the Mongolian Hotpot recipe, light charcoal over a gas flame and then use tongs to insert it down the central chimney of the hotpot and into the bottom.
Guang Dong Niang San Bao
Stuffed Vegetables and Beancurd
This Cantonese and Hakim favorite uses a selection of vegetables and beancurd stuffed with a shrimp filling. The sauce, flavored with salted black beans, gives an emphatic salty tang to the delicate stuffed vegetables.
1 large green bell pepper (capsicum)
1 long thin eggplant (aubergine)
1 hard beancurd
1 teaspoon cornflour
Oil for deep-frying
Stuffing
1 cup (200 g) peeled shrimp, chopped
¼ cup (50 g) lard (pork fat), chopped
1 tablespoon black moss fungus, soaked to soften
½ teaspoon salt
Dash of ground white pepper
Sauce
1 teaspoon salted black beans, mashed slightly with the back of a spoon
1 teaspoon finely chopped red chili
1 teaspoon very finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon very finely chopped ginger
1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock
½ teaspoon black soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornflour, blended with water
Prepare the stuffing first by blending together all ingredients. Set aside.
Cut the green pepper into four and discard seeds. Cut the eggplant across into 1½-in (4-em) lengths and make a lengthwise slit down one side to form a pocket for the stuffing. Cut beancurd into four and slit a pocket in each. Sprinkle the inside of the vegetables and beancurd with corn-flour to help make the stuffing adhere, then fill with the stuffing.
Heat oil in a wok and deep-fry the stuffed items, a few at a time, until golden and cooked. Remove and set aside, leaving 1 teaspoon of oil in the wok for preparing the sauce.
To make the sauce, stir-fry the black beans, chili, garlic, and ginger for a few seconds until fragrant, then add the stock and soy sauce. Heat, then add the fried vegetables and beancurd and simmer for 1 minute. Thicken with corn-flour and serve immediately.
HELPFUL HINT
Stuffed Vegetables and Beancurd: Other vegetables which can be stuffed include bitter gourd and seeded green or red chilies. The stuffing can be prepared in advance.
Xiang Gu Chao Jiao Bai
Bamboo Shoots with Mushrooms
The special type of bamboo shoot used for this dish in southern China has an excellent texture and flavor. If fresh jiao bai is available, substitute canned bamboo shoots.
12 oz (375 g) jiao bai or bamboo shoots
2 teaspoons oil
1 heaped teaspoon very finely chopped garlic
10 dried black mushrooms, soaked
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
If
