Gong bao ji ding

Kung pao chicken

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, or about 2/3 lb, cut into about 1/2 inch cubes
3 cloves garlic, sliced
about the same amount of ginger, also sliced
5 scallions, white parts only, chopped
peanut oil
at least 10 dried chilies, cut in half and seeds discarded
1 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
2/3 cup roasted unsalted peanuts

Marinade:
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
1 1/2 tsp potato flour or 2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp water

Sauce:
3 tsp sugar
1 tsp potato flour or cornstarch
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
3 tsp Chinkiang vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chicken stock or water

Marinate the chicken. Make the sauce.
Heat oil in the wok. Add chilies and Sichuan pepper, stir fry until crisp, spicy, fragrant - careful not to burn.
Add chicken and fry on high, stirring constantly. As soon as it's separated, add the ginger, garlic, scallions, and for a few minutes.
Add the sauce, then the peanuts, then serve.

Source: Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop

Gan bian si ji dou

Dry-fried Sichuanese green beans

10 oz green beans
peanut oil
3 oz ground pork
2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or medium-dry sherry
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp ya cai or Tianjin preserved vegetable, finely chopped
salt to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

Trim beans, snap in half. Stir fry in oil for about 6 minutes, until tender and a little puckered. (Dan's note: usually takes longer.) Remove from wok and set aside.

Fry pork for 30 seconds. Add wine and soy sauce. Add ya cai and fry briefly. Add beans. Add salt, then drizzle with sesame oil.

You can also make this without the pork; if you do, add some garlic and ginger and dried chilies. You can also pre-boil the beans a little bit in order to make them cook faster.

Source: Land of Plenty and Every Grain of Rice, both by Fuchsia Dunlop

Boiled aromatic peanuts

1 pint water
8 oz raw peanuts, in their husks or just their pink skins
2 tsp salt
1 tsp whole sichuan pepper
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2 whole cloves
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1-2 slices dried ginger
1 cao guo (optional)

Wrap the spices in a cheesecloth so you can easily pick them out. Simmer 40 minutes, then drain.

Source: Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop

Fu qi fei pian

"Man and wife lung slices"

1lb lean beef, like flank steak (or a mix with innards like ox heart, tongue, and stomach)

To cook the beef:
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, unpeeled, slightly crushed
1 tbsp peanut oil
2 tbsp rock sugar, crushed
1 quart stock
1 1/2 tbsp salt
2 scallions, white and green, cut into thirds
1 tsp whole Sichuan pepper
1/2 a cinnamon stick
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 star anise
4 cloves (you can make a little bag of all these spices)

To serve:
3-4 celery stalks
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1-2 tbsp chili oil with chile flake
1/2 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
2 tsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed
cilantro to garnish
Boil water, blanch beef for 10-20 seconds, throw away water and rinse beef.

Heat peanut oil with half the rock sugar, boil until it's a rich caramel brown. Throw in a little cup of cold water (look out for steam!) and stir to incorporate. Add the rest of the "to cook beef" ingredients. Boil, then add the beef, simmer gently for about an hour and a half until tender. Remove beef and cool. Save cooking liquid.

Slice the celery thin. Thinly slice the cold beef too, lay it on top of the celery. Combine 4 tbsp cooking liquid with the soy sauce, pour over meat. Drizzle with chili oil, Sichuan pepper, sesame seeds, peanuts, cilantro.

Source: Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop

Chen Dailu's Spicy Sesame Noodles

Sauce:

2 tsp sesame paste

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1/2 tsp Chinkiang vinegar

1 tsp chopped garlic

pinch of sichuan pepper

1 1/2 tbsp chili oil with sediment

1/2 lb Chinese wheat or buckwheat noodles (can use udon or soba too)

handful of pea shoots, bok choy, or choy sum leaves

1 tbsp finely chopped spring onion greens

Combine the sauce in a bowl. Cook noodles, toss greens in for the last minute to blanch. Drain noodles and greens, add to bowl, scatter with spring onions, mix and serve.

Source: Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop

Hui Guo Rou

Twice-cooked pork

1/2 lb boneless pork belly, with skin
6 baby leeks, or Chinese leaf garlic, trimmed, sliced diagonally
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp douban jiang (Sichuan chili bean paste)
1 tsp sweet fermented sauce
2 tsp fermented black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
a few slices of fresh red chili or bell pepper for color (Dan's note: you can put in a whole bunch of red bell pepper, it's good too)

Boil/simmer pork until just cooked through, about 20 min. Fridge for several hours to cool. Slice it thin (each slice having a little skin on it).

Saute pork slices until slightly curved and some fat has melted out. Add douban jiang, then sweet fermented sauce and black beans, then add soy sauce, sugar, and salt to taste. Add leeks and pepper and stir fry until just cooked and serve.

Source: Every Grain of Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop