Hello everyone, this is Wang Gang
In this video, I’ll share the recipe of
Spicy Hot Pot Soup Base, the quickest version
First, prepare 100g dried chili peppers. Cut them into short segments and put them in a bowl for later use
Soak the dried chilis in a moderate amount of boiling water for 20min
so that the dried chilis are easier to grind
20min later, move the chilis into a stone mortar after squeezing out the water
And then grind the chilis evenly
You may use your favorite kind of chilis depending on your personal taste
Take out the chili paste (also called 糍粑辣椒 Ciba Lajiao, “rice cake chilis”) Next, prepare the spices
Add a star anise into a bowl
Add two small pieces of cinnamon
Add a tsao-ko with seeds removed
Add a few white cardamom pods
Add two bay leaves
Add 5g fennel seeds
Add a moderate amount of high alcohol baijiu liquor and mix up the spices
so that the aroma of the spices can be activated
Add a moderate amount of Sichuan green peppercorns into a bowl
and then add in the baijiu used for soaking the spices and mix up for later use
This avoids the bitter taste of the peppercorns
Next, prepare the side ingredients
Slice a small piece of raw ginger (~20g) for later use
Slice some onions (~30g) for later use
Chop a few green onions into segments for later use
Chop two cilantros with roots into segments for later use
Cut 500g beef tallow into small pieces for later use
If you don’t like beef tallow, you may also use rapeseed oil or soybean oil instead
Finally, add 50g doubanjiang (chili oil variety) into a bowl
Next, cook
First, heat up the wok
Melt the beef tallow pieces in the heated wok
When the oil is 50% heated (~150C), add in the prepared ginger, onion and cilantro
Fry with low to medium fire until the side ingredients are golden brown
This allows the beef tallow to absorb the flavor of the side ingredients
Remove the side ingredients after they have turned golden brown
Then add in the chili paste and stir to distribute
After the chilis are distributed evenly, add in the soaked spices
Stir fry with low fire for 10min
to release the aroma from the spices
With the aroma released, add in a moderate amount of dried chili peppers. Stir fry for 5min
Dried chilis enhance the aromatic and spicy taste
If you can’t handle spiciness, you may skip the dried chilis
5min later, add in the prepared doubanjiang Fry with low fire to release the aroma and the chili oil
Note: never use high fire, otherwise the soup base isn't red and shiny
After that, add in the prepared green peppercorn and stir fry for 1min
Never overfry peppercorns, otherwise the aroma is lost
Add 3g white rock sugar to neutralize the spiciness and enhance the umami taste
And then add 3g jiuzao (酒糟, rice wine distiller grain) to enhance the aftertaste
Stir to distribute all ingredients evenly, and then add in a moderate amount of clear broth (~1800g)
If you don’t have clear broth, you may use clear water instead
Boil with high fire. Then add seasonings
Add two spoons of salt (~6g) into the wok
Add two spoons of chicken flavoring powder (~4g)
If you don’t like chicken flavoring, you may skip it
We are done after seasoning
Now a quick and simple version of Spicy Hot Pot Soup Base is done
Technical summary:
1. This is the beef tallow version. If you don’t like beef tallow, you may use vegetable oil instead
2. You may use your favorite kind of dried chili peppers depending on your personal taste
3. The spices and Sichuan green peppercorns should be soaked with high alcohol baijiu liquors, so that their aroma is maximized
That’s all for the technical summary of Hot Pot Soup Base
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