Mini Spicy Sichuan Cooking. Daniel Reid

oil

      1 teaspoon sugar

      1 teaspoon soy sauce

      ½ teaspoon salt

      1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder

      1 Combine the Sauce ingredients in a small bowl, mix well and set aside.

      2 To make the dumplings, combine the pork, chopped prawns, spring onions, egg, cornflour, soy sauce and ginger in a medium bowl and mix well.

      3 Arrange several wrappers on a dry work surface and place a tablespoon of mixture onto the center of each wrapper. Using a pastry brush, lightly dab some water around half of the edge of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half and press the edges to seal. If not cooking immediately, lightly dust the dumplings and leave on a rack to dry without touching each other.

      4 Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Slip the dumplings into the boiling water, and let them boil until they all float to the surface, which means they are cooked. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and drain.

      5 Place the hot dumplings in a serving dish, pour the sauce and stir gently to coat. Alternatively, serve the sauce separately as a dip. Garnish with the sliced chili and coriander leaves and serve immediately.

      Serves 4

      Preparation time: 30 mins

      Cooking time: 5 mins

      Place a tablespoon of filling onto the center of each wrapper.

      Lightly dab some water around half the edge, fold the wrapper in half and press the edges to seal.

      Fish Soup with Sesame and Fennel

      This recipe provides a variety of therapeutic benefits, including eliminating phlegm from the body, strengthening spleen and stomach functions, and counteracting symptoms of colds and flu. Any type of white-fleshed fish may be used in this soup.

      500 g (1 lb) fresh white-fleshed fish, such as sea bass or swordfish

      2 tablespoons sesame seeds, dry roasted, then finely ground in a blender or food processor

      2 tablespoons oil

      1½ liters (6 cups) boiling water or fish stock (made from fish bouillon cubes)

      1 baby fennel bulb, halved, cored and finely sliced, leaves reserved to garnish

      Seasoning

      1 teaspoon soy sauce

      1 teaspoon sugar

      2 teaspoons fennel powder

      1 teaspoon salt

      1 Rinse the fish and pat dry with paper towels, then cut into bite-sized pieces.

      2 Place the ground sesame seeds in a shallow bowl, then toss the fish pieces in the sesame powder until evenly coated. Cover the bowl and allow the fish to rest in the sesame powder for about 2 hours.

      3 Combine the Seasoning ingredients and set aside.

      4 Heat the oil in a wok or large pot until hot and stir-fry the fish for 2 minutes, then immediately add the boiling water or fish stock. Return to the boil, then add the Seasoning and stir to mix.

      5 Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Serve garnished with fennel slices and leaves if desired.

      You may also prepare this soup with fresh prawns that have been shelled and deveined. This is a good way to prepare fish or prawns for people with digestive problems; the fennel and sesame aid digestion, and the water provides plenty of fluid to carry it through the digestive tract.

      Fennel bulbs are stumpy plants with thick stems. They have round bases that resemble large onions and have an aniseed taste. They are sold fresh in supermarkets. If fennel bulbs are not available, substitute parsley.

      Serves 4

      Preparation time: 20 mins

      Marinating time: 2 hours

      Cooking time: 10 mins

      Clear Pork Soup with Daikon

      Pork is a very popular meat in Sichuan and this is a favorite way to use pork to prepare soup. The preferred cut for this soup is what the Chinese call wu hua rou—literally "five flowered flesh"—which refers to the belly meat, or bacon cut, with its flowery pattern of fat and flesh. Leaner cuts may also be used. This is also a good example of how the famous Sichuan peppercorn can wake up an otherwise sleepy soup with its pungent flavor.

      1 liter (4 cups) water, or chicken or vegetable stock (made from chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes)

      4 slices ginger

      2 spring onions, each cut into 3 sections

      10 Sichuan peppercorns

      1 daikon radish (about

      250 g/8 oz), halved lengthwise, and sliced

      300 g (10 oz) pork belly or bacon pork, or other tender cut, washed and cut into very thin slices

      Sauce

      2 teaspoons salt

      1 teaspoon sugar

      ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

      2 teaspoons rice wine

      2 teaspoons sesame oil

      1 Mix the Sauce ingredients well and set aside.

      2 Bring the chicken or vegetable stock or water to a boil in a pot, and add the ginger, spring onions and peppercorns. Add the Sauce and daikon slices, and stir. Lower the heat to medium and simmer, covered, for 12 minutes.

      3 Add the pork, stir, cover again, and simmer for 3 more minutes, then turn off the heat completely.

      4 Before serving, discard the ginger and spring onions. Transfer the soup to a soup bowl to serve at the table, or ladle individual servings into bowls.

      This soup may also be prepared with beef or lamb. The best choice from the point of view of health is lamb, because lamb fat is far more digestible and actually benefits the human liver and heart, rather than clogging them up. You may also try using fresh fish fillets cut into thin strips, in which case you should reduce the final cooking time (when fish is added to the soup) to only 1 minute. Fresh chopped coriander leaves or parsley may be sprinkled onto each individual serving as a garnish.

      Serves 4

      Preparation time: 15 mins

      Cooking time: 20 mins

      Hot and Sour Soup

      There are many ways of preparing the famous Sichuan hot and sour soup. Heavily seasoned and chock-full of highly nutritious ingredients, it is particularly popular as a winter food. The recipe given here includes various meat ingredients, but an equally tasty vegetarian version may also be prepared (see note below).

      100 g (4 oz) chicken breast

      30 g (1 oz) Yunnan ham or prosciutto

      1 cake firm tofu

      30 g (1 oz) canned or fresh bamboo shoots (see note)

      1 small carrot

      4 big fresh or dried black Chinese mushrooms

      30 g (1 oz) wood ear mushrooms

      1 liter (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock, or plain water

      2 teaspoons salt