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Some time ago I bought a superb book, Sichuan Cookery, written by the very gifted cook, Fuschia Dunlop. It is the defining text on - as you may have guessed - food of the Sichuan province of China. Plainly, if you are a fan of the true Sichuan style or an appreciator of cooking texts that are entirely authentic and without peer, this is the book for you.
Sadly, though, painful as it has been, up until now I have not been able to put to test any of the delectable treats found between the covers of this gem.
For you see, like a good deal of recipes that come from an exotic, and ages old, source, almost all of these well-worn dishes require a special, difficult to source ingredient. In this case it was a specific type of Sichuan bean sauce comprised of [essentially] Sichuan chillies and semi-fermented broad beans.
Now I travelled everywhere searching for this paste, without luck. Until one sunny Saturday I, by chance, visited a Chinese grocer at the Preston market. There, deep, deep, deep at the back of a shelf way at the rear of the store, I found the very thing. There was labelling written entirely in Chinese, and there was dust, but praise be there was also an importer mark which simply read Sichuan paste with broad bean. Bingo.
Fast forward to this evening and the maiden dish, a simple trial, a very Sichuan delight: bean thread noodles and mince. In all honesty I was using experience and feel in freeforming on the ingredients, as I was tired and without patience to read a recipe, but it didn't matter - the sauce did reveal its delight, and with very little coaxing.
I knew it was going to be good from the moment I opened the jar and saw the rich red, infused oil covering the body of the paste. The other showstopper was the smell. For those of you that cook in the wok you will know that when you throw fresh chilli into heat your nostrils flare as the escaping Capsaicin smacks your face. However, in this instance not only did my nose flare and my lungs spontaneously contract, but I also recoiled away from the wok, such was the intensity. The smile on my face, however, was a mile wide.
Not surprisingly, the dish was superb, and the verdict is that the sauce truly is magical. I find it almost a punishable offence that I had toyed with substituting an ordinary Chinese soy bean sauce in the past. I now know this would have been an unforgivable sin, thinking ahead to the dishes I will be creating and the tastes that will come as a result of this newfound fire in a jar.
I've hunted down many ingredients in my time, in the quest for true culinary delight, but I'd have to say this is right up there for me in the Great Find Hall of Fame. Now all I need to do is start at page one of this wonderful book and steady as she goes.
Stay tuned for the tasting notes on Ma Po's Pockmarked Beancurd.
Sadly, though, painful as it has been, up until now I have not been able to put to test any of the delectable treats found between the covers of this gem.
For you see, like a good deal of recipes that come from an exotic, and ages old, source, almost all of these well-worn dishes require a special, difficult to source ingredient. In this case it was a specific type of Sichuan bean sauce comprised of [essentially] Sichuan chillies and semi-fermented broad beans.
Now I travelled everywhere searching for this paste, without luck. Until one sunny Saturday I, by chance, visited a Chinese grocer at the Preston market. There, deep, deep, deep at the back of a shelf way at the rear of the store, I found the very thing. There was labelling written entirely in Chinese, and there was dust, but praise be there was also an importer mark which simply read Sichuan paste with broad bean. Bingo.
Fast forward to this evening and the maiden dish, a simple trial, a very Sichuan delight: bean thread noodles and mince. In all honesty I was using experience and feel in freeforming on the ingredients, as I was tired and without patience to read a recipe, but it didn't matter - the sauce did reveal its delight, and with very little coaxing.
I knew it was going to be good from the moment I opened the jar and saw the rich red, infused oil covering the body of the paste. The other showstopper was the smell. For those of you that cook in the wok you will know that when you throw fresh chilli into heat your nostrils flare as the escaping Capsaicin smacks your face. However, in this instance not only did my nose flare and my lungs spontaneously contract, but I also recoiled away from the wok, such was the intensity. The smile on my face, however, was a mile wide.
Not surprisingly, the dish was superb, and the verdict is that the sauce truly is magical. I find it almost a punishable offence that I had toyed with substituting an ordinary Chinese soy bean sauce in the past. I now know this would have been an unforgivable sin, thinking ahead to the dishes I will be creating and the tastes that will come as a result of this newfound fire in a jar.
I've hunted down many ingredients in my time, in the quest for true culinary delight, but I'd have to say this is right up there for me in the Great Find Hall of Fame. Now all I need to do is start at page one of this wonderful book and steady as she goes.
Stay tuned for the tasting notes on Ma Po's Pockmarked Beancurd.
posted by W at 1:20 am
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