Sichuan DanDan Noodles

Click here to print the recipe

If you like noodle soup and you like spicy food, you should definitely try this (and if you have never tried, why the hell haven't you?).

Dandan noodles/Dandanmien/Tantanmen hails from Sichuan province in China, known for their cuisine's bold flavors and spiciness. With its sweet pungent aroma, mouth-numbing and piquant flavors, all in delicious savory broth, the soups is literally an assault on your senses.

But a good assault. Because you will be addicted to this.

Because you will wake up the next morning and feel sad because you don't have any leftover.

Because you realize that your regular noodle soup just won't do anymore.

Ingredients:

For Sichuan Chili Oil (Hong You) aka happiness in a jar:

• 1 cup canola oil
• 1-inch fresh ginger, sliced
• 5 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 stalks green onion, sliced
• 4 star anise pods
• 2-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons Sichuan peppers (preferably red and green mix), crushed
• 4 tablespoons red chili flakes

For the noodle soup:

• 1/2 pound pork, coarsely minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine/rice wine
•  2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced ginger
• 4-5 tablespoons Pixian Doubanjiang/spicy broad bean paste (it looks like this)
• 4 tablespoons sesame paste
• 6 cups chicken stock
• Asian dried noodles
• Cilantro for garnish

Directions:

To make Sichuan Chili Oil (Hong You):

• Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pot. Cook over medium heat and fry the ingredients until garlics and green onions are browned, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and continue cooking until the oil turns darker color. Remove from the stove and set aside.
• Transfer oil to an airtight jar. Store in the cool part of the kitchen until ready to use.

* The leftover chili oil stores very well and can be used for other dishes such as this one.

To make the noodle soup:

• In a large bowl, mix pork, soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and rice wine until well combined. Set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
• Heat oil in a pot. Add pork and cook until brown. Stir in Douban and sesame paste, cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken stock into the pot, bring to simmer. Taste the soup, season with salt and white pepper if necessary.
• In a separate pot, boil water and cook dry noodles per package instruction. Drain the noodles and divide into 4 individual bowls. Ladle the broth over the noodles, sprinkle with a lot of cilantro. Drizzle generous amount of chili oil before serving.

Minangkabau Beef Rendang

Click here to print the recipe

Ask an Indonesian, any Indonesian you meet, to name one dish that best represent their country, and most of them will say rendang.

Authentic Indonesian rendang (there's only Indonesian rendang. Everything else is just a cheap knock-off that doesn't come even close in flavor or appearance) hails from Minangkabau highland in West Sumatra. It takes a long time to cook it and lots of practice to perfect it, but in the end you will be rewarded with delicious spicy aromatic dish that will make all other curry turn green with envy. 

Serve with steamed rice.

Ingredients:

• 10 shallots
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 1 inch fresh galangal
• 12 fresh cayenne peppers
• 5 Thai bird chilies, more if you want it hotter
• 1 teaspoon toasted cumin
• 1 teaspoon toasted coriander
• 1 teaspoon toasted white peppercorn
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 4 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 asam kandis (garnicia xanthochymus), substitute with kokum (available from Indian spice shop), or if you're not able to find any, use 2 tablespoon of tamarind pulp
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 lemongrass, white part only, bruised
• 2 turmeric leaves (might omit if not available, but will change the flavor significantly. Strongly recommended)
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 2 pounds beef chuck or shank, cubed (about 2 x 2)
• 1 can (14 ounces) coconut cream
• 1 can coconut milk
• Salt to taste

Directions:

• Place shallots, garlics, ginger, galangal, peppers, cumin, coriander, and peppercorn in a food processor and pulse until smooth.
• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat, add the spice paste into the hot oil and cook until fragrant, stir constantly. Add coconut cream and coconut milk into the saucepan, mix thoroughly. 
• Add beef chunks, lemongrass, lime leaves, star anise, cinnamon, asam kandis, turmeric leaves, palm sugar and salt into the mixture. Reduce the heat to low, cover the saucepan partially so the steam can escape. Cook for 3-4 hours, stir occasionally, until the meat is very tender.
• Remove the lid and turn up the heat. Stir and continue cooking until the moisture is almost gone, the sauce dries up and turns oily, and the meat is caramelized.
• Serve with hot steamed rice. Rendang keeps very well, in fact it will taste better the next day. Just reheat before serving.

Szechuan Chicken Wings with Explosive Chile

Click here to print the recipe

Spices 3 in Oakland, is one of the very few places we like to go to enjoy some spicy Szechuan food in Bay Area. One of the dishes that we order almost religiously there is chicken wings with explosive chile. 

Crispy fried chicken wings dusted with spice and smothered in dried chile peppers is out-of-this-world delicious and we just can't get enough of this.

Last week we went to this restaurant and after seeing my kids cleaned 2 orders of chicken wings in 10 minutes (and still begged for more!), I decided that maybe it's time for me to make an attempt to replicate the dish. I don't want to dip into our retirement account only to satisfy my family's need for chicken wings!

What do I know, I found this recipe from Chef Danny Bowien of San Francisco's Mission Chinese Food online and I thought I hit the jackpot!

So today was the perfect day to do this.

Rugby Sevens was playing and my family seemed to to have their eyes glued to the TV. A bucket full of spicy chicken wings, and everybody's as happy as clams.

Ingredients:

• About 2 quarts of canola oil
• 3 pounds chicken wings, separated into drumettes and midsections (or flats), wings tips discarded
• Kosher salt
• 1 star anise pod
• 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 cup dried red Chinese chiles, or dried Arbol chiles
• 1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled. very thinly sliced, then thinly sliced into matchsticks
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Pour 2 inches of the oil into a Dutch oven or large, heavy bottomed pot. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 300 F on a deep-frying/candy thermometer.
• Working in batches of 6 to 7 pieces, fry the chicken wings in oil, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain the temperature of 300 F, until the skin is opaque but not browned, about 3 to 5 minutes (the wings will not be cooked though). Using a slotted spoon, transfer the wings to a large bowl and toss with generous amount of salt. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.
• When all of the wings are fried, let them cool completely. Cover the baking sheet and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours or overnight. Set the oil aside to use later.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 F and arrange the rack int he middle. Place the star anise, red pepper flakes, cumin, and peppercorns in a single layer on a baking sheet, and toast until fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool completely. Using the spice grinder or clean coffee grinder, grind into fine powder; set aside.
• Place the chiles in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast until slightly darkened and fragrant, about 3 to 5 minutes; set aside to cool.
• When ready to serve, set the reserved frying oil over medium-high heat and bring to 350 F on a deep-frying/candy thermometer. Working in batches of 6 to 7 frozen wing pieces, fry, turning the wings occasionally, and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a temperature of 350 F, until the wings are cooked through, golden brown, and crispy, about 6 minutes.
• Immediately transfer each batch to a large bowl, season with salt and 1 teaspoon of the spice blend, and toss to coat. Place on a serving dish and repeat with the remaining wings.
• When all the wings are cooked, place the reserved chiles, ginger, 1 teaspoon of the spice blend, and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in the large bowl and toss to combine. Scatter the mixture over the chicken wings and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve immediately.