Sichuan stir-fried green beans with minced pork

Stir-fried beans with minced pork is a classic Sichuan dish. I've seen it on the menu of every Sichuan restaurant I've ever been to and I love it (5 or 6 of them, enough to know it's a running theme). A cracking version at Red Chilli the other weekend reminded me that it was about time I tried to cook it again.

On the couple of occasions I've attempted the dish before the results have been reasonable but I've never quite hit the nail on the head. It's never quite scaled the heights of deliciousness found in a good restaurant version. This time was better, I think I've nearly cracked it so I thought I'd share the recipe.

I did three things differently this time. I used pork belly and minced it by hand, I added shaoxing rice wine and I added a sachet of preserved vegetables. The pork belly was all my idea, but I can't claim credit for the wine and veggies as I perused plenty of recipes online that suggest their inclusion. The resultant method and quantities however are all my own work.

Cutting the meat by hand from a piece really sorted the texture out. You want little tiny nuggets of meat rather than actual mince which will either disintegrate into mush or form longer strands rather than nuggets. I used belly but shoulder would also work as I still trimmed quite a lot of the excess fat from the belly.

The rice wine and preserved veggies provided the depth of flavour and umami succulence (MSG may have been present in the preserved veg) that was otherwise lacking.

In it's original incarnation I think this is supposed to be a vegetable dish with pork garnish, but I upped the meat quotient a bit for no reason other than that I wanted more pork. One strip of pork belly should be plenty but you may want to use less if you are having this as a side dish. At Red Chilli this was our vegetable dish alongside other mutton, chicken and pork dishes so extra pork in the veggies wouldn't really have been necessary. Obviously a little bit of pork in the veggies was necessary, but not a lot. One has to consider arterial health on occasion.

The resultant dish should have an intensely savoury flavour balanced by some sweetness. It should also pack a punch from the chillies and make your lips tingle from the Sichuan pepper. All this, coupled with the fact it will contain lots of pork fat should combine to make it very more-ish indeed.

The more unusual ingredients are readily available in Oriental supermarkets.

You will need

These quantities will serve 2 as a main meal with rice, more as a side dish.
100g piece of pork belly
200g green beans
half a tsp sichuan peppercorns
handful of dried chillis
3 tbsps shaoxing rice wine
5 cloves garlic
an inch of ginger
3 spring onions
2 tbsps soy sauce
white pepper
vegetable oil
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 sachet of Sichuan preserved vegetable (made with mustard greens I think)

What to do

1. The first step is to prepare the meat. Cut any large quantities of excess fat from your meat, but don't get carried away as you still want it quite fatty.

2. Chop the meat into very small, almost minced pieces. The easiest way to do this is to attack it with scissors for a good five minutes.

3. Put your finely chopped meat into a small mixing bowl and add a good pinch of white pepper, a tbsp of soy sauce and a tbsp of shaoxing rice wine. Give it a good stir and set aside.

4. Top and tail your green beans, then cut them into roughly equal sized pieces. Get a wok on a medium-hot heat with a generous glug of vegetable oil and a tbsp of sesame oil in it.

5. Add the green beans to the wok and fry them until the surfaces start to blister and the insides are cooked but retain a little bite. This should only take 3 or 4 minutes. When they are done remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and put them onto kitchen paper to soak up any excess oil.

6. Whilst the beans are frying finely chop, crush or grate the garlic and ginger (I grated it) and slice the spring onions. Crush the sichuan peppercorns lightly in a pestle and mortar (if you haven't got one just bash them up a bit with something heavy on your chopping board). Open the sachet of preserved vegetables and have the dried chillies, soy sauce and rice wine to hand. Make sure all of this is done before the next step, as the rest of the cooking process takes only 4-5 minutes so you need to have everything ready to throw in quickly.

7. After the beans have been removed keep the wok on the heat and add the pork. Stir-fry it for a minute or two, don't worry if it sticks or catches as the crusty bits are delicious.

8. Add the handful of dried chillies and stir-fry for another few seconds, then add the garlic, ginger and sichuan pepper, then stir-fry for another minute or so.

9. Add the sachet of preserved vegetables and the beans, then stir-fry for another minute or so.

10. Throw in a good glug of shaoxing rice wine (about 2tbsps) and a glug of soy sauce (about 1 tbsp) and fry for one more minute.

11. Garnish with the spring onions and serve immediately with steamed rice.

...and finally, apropos of nothing other than to cheer me up here are a couple of photos taken in the Dales on Sunday. Just a little reminder that we do have blue skies from time to time in dank, dark November.

Red Chilli, Leeds (revisited)

On my last visit to Red Chilli it was a little below par. Things that should have been a full on assault on the senses were a little dull, a little mild. A return visit on Saturday found it right back on form, four of us had a corker of a meal.

I was dining with Red Chilli first-timers, attempting to persuade them that a few pints and a Sichuan feast was a fine alternative to a few pints and a curry. Friends duly persuaded. We'll be back.

Stir-fried french beans with chilli and minced pork is one of my all time favourite Chinese dishes. Heat-blistered beans, al dente, dripping in spicy, porky oil and covered in tender little nuggets of salty meat. Lush.

Gong bao diced chicken with peanuts and dried chilli comes doused in a sweet, spicy sauce. The peanuts and chicken provide a wonderful contrast in textures.

The only dish I'd never ordered before, stir fried frog's legs with big Grandma's chilli sauce. Sweet and spicy again, but this time with the inclusion of black beans which gave it a salty, slightly funky fermented edge. Impossible to eat with chopsticks this, fingers were a must. Messy, sticky fun.

The last, but very much not least of the big dishes, spicy hot poached mutton. A huge vat of broth packed with shards of meat, assorted greens, about a bulb of garlic and copious quantities of dried chillies and Sichuan peppercorns. Lip tingling, meaty, more-ish, sweat-inducing deliciousness.

And finally, a couple of plates of dumplings. They make these fresh so they actually turned up after everything else. The boiled ones were Beijing style minced pork and prawn, and were spot on. Perfectly cooked skins and a moist, fragrant filling.

The others were Guotie, Beijing style minced pork fried dumplings. Equally good skins and filling, and they got the crusty fried exterior just right too.

A fantastic meal all round, and great value. Prices on the menu may not look that cheap, but bear in mind everything is served in enormous portions. The mutton alone could probably have fed a family of four. We finished the lot, and stuffed to the gills toddled off to the next pub, where a bottle of wine was ordered due to lack of room for beer.

The bill came to £17 each including a beer apiece and plenty of boiled rice. We threw in £20 each and left it that, as the service was just as good as the food. It can be inconsistent, but on this form Red Chilli deserves all the accolades it gets. Brilliant.

9/10

6 Great George Street
Leeds
LS1 3DW

http://www.redchillirestaurant.co.uk/

Red Chilli, Leeds

Back on topic. Yesterday's post was a bit too serious. An attempt at serious comment about a serious issue maybe, but this is supposed to be a food blog not a social commentary. I probably won't do it again. Sorry.

So, the food. I paid a visit to Red Chilli on Sunday. The Leeds branch of the Chinese mini-chain, not the Wakefield branch of the Indian mini-chain. In case you didn't already know Red Chilli is the only good Chinese restaurant in Leeds*. The focus here is on Sichuan food, although there are Cantonese dishes on the menu I've never tried them. Stick to the Sichuan dishes and you usually can't go wrong.

First up, stir fried kai lan with Chinese sundried sausage and bacon. The Sichuan food mantra is 'if in doubt, add pork'. A very sensible proposition if you ask me. I've never tried Chinese sausage or bacon before, and was quite impressed. Little chewy explosions of piggy saltiness, very nice with the crunchy, refreshing greens. Kai lan isn't my favourite green though, it's a bit tasteless.

Sliced chicken and seafood hot chilli casserole arrived next. An intensely savoury broth with loads of wobbly stuff floating around in it (definitely tofu, scallops, chicken and squid. God knows what else). Disappointingly it wasn't spicy though.

The final huge dish to arrive, a Sichuan classic. Dan Dan noodles with minced pork and chilli in soup. A sort of Chinese Spag Bol if you will. Except usually better. Think perfectly cooked noodles and morsels of fatty pork swimming in a rich, meaty broth agressively spiced with copious quantities of Sichuan pepper and chilli. The best versions of this will make your tongue tingle and your brow sweat, but you won't be able to stop shovelling it in. This was a decent version, BUT NOT SPICY ENOUGH. Way underpowered.

For good measure, a plate of dumplings. Beijing style minced pork and mince king prawn dumplings to be precise. Good wrappers, steamed to perfection with a nice fresh filling. Delicious dunked in the black vinegar provided.

Yes we did order all this for two people. No we didn't finish it all, but did take the rest away. They'll happily package up your leftovers. With rice, tea and a proper tip for the sweet service the bill came to £38. Outstanding value considering that this was really a meal for three, not two.

My one criticism of Red Chilli is their inconsistency with the spicing. I've been to the Leeds branch three times now, and the original Manchester branch twice, and it's never quite the same. If it's supposed to be a facemelter of a dish, then make it so. Don't tone things down unless we ask you to. Otherwise I love it.

7/10 on this visit

6 Great George Street
Leeds
LS1 3DW


http://www.redchillirestaurant.co.uk/leeds_gallery.asp

*This bold statement may not be true. A big thumbs-up to anyone who can prove it to be false.

Hei Hei, Newcastle

I didn't arrive in Newcastle 'til after seven o'clock on a gloriously warm, sunny Thursday evening. Having been cooped up in office and car all day it was too good to miss, so I went for a good long walk around town and a couple of pints on the quayside before finally rocking up at Hei Hei some time after nine.

As on the previous night, it wasn't at all what I'd planned, but beer and sunshine had whet my appetite for spice. The menu at Hei Hei (another Twitter recommendation, thank you very much) ranges all over China, covering Cantonese and Sichuan classics as well as dishes from Beijing and Shanghai.

Soft shell crab wasn't the best start. It tasted fine, but was very greasy, the meatier pieces of crab having soaked up the frying oil like a sponge.

Spicy hot poached lamb was far more successful. An absolute beast of a dish rammed full of sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies and a bulb or two of garlic. Nestling in the oily broth were tender slices of lamb and plenty of al dente beansprouts and greens. All that was necessary by way of accompaniment was some plain steamed rice to soak up the juices and dampen the fire. A word of warning, don't do as I did and eat this an hour before you want to be asleep in bed. This needs some serious digestion time.

With a couple of Tsing Tao beers and a tip for the good service the bill came to about £26. Another feather in Newcastle's dining cap.


7/10

46 Dean Street
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 1PG

http://www.heihei.co.uk/

A year in Manchester

After an all too brief year I have just left Manchester and moved back to Leeds (well, Wakefield actually but most of my eating and drinking will be done in Leeds). I enjoyed my time in Manchester so thought I'd sum up my favourite things with a list. I like lists and this is the first opportunity I've had to write one on my fledgling blog.

I could have veered completely off topic here, and created a Manchester Top Ten of all the things I love about the place. But this is a food and drink blog, so you don't want to hear me banging on about industrial architecture or trams or cycle paths or whatever. Instead I've included some nice photos of sunny Manchester. Here are five food and drink things I love about Manchester:

1.  Pubs
There are absolutely loads of fantastic pubs in central Manchester (and Salford). The key things I look for in a pub are a good selection of beer and a convivial atmosphere. Add interesting buildings/interiors and good food into the mix and you're really on to a winner. In vaguely pub crawl related order here is my lucky 13: The Marble Arch; The Angel; Bar Fringe; Crown and Kettle; The Castle Hotel; Port Street Beer House; The Britons Protection; Peveril of the Peak; Knott Bar; The Lass O'Gowrie; The New Oxford; The Kings Arms; The Mark Addy.

2. Chinese restaurants
In my opinion Manchester has the best and most varied selection of Chinese restaurants in the UK outside London. I have barely started working my way through all of them, but I have eaten very well at the following: Red Chilli, Middle Kingdom (both Szechuan); Hunan (Hunanese); BBQ Handmade Noodles King (hand made noodles!).

 
3. Curry cafés
The curry cafés of Manchester appear to be a unique phenomenon. I've certainly never come across anything similar in this country (although strangely I do recall them having the same sort of thing in Australia, but with really rubbish curry). The premise is simple. The curries are pre-cooked and kept warm at the counter. You get to pick any three curries on rice for a fixed price, which is always under a fiver. The quality can be a bit hit and miss, the decor is invariably scruffy, but you are guaranteed to get a decent feed for a low price. Sometimes they really surprise you with a corker of a dish too, one of them does a lovely keema with whole hard boiled eggs in it. Great stuff.

There are loads of the places scattered around the Northern Quarter and various other parts of the city. I'm not going to bother listing them all here. Instead I shall refer you to the comprehensive and excellent Flavours of Manchester blog.

4. Traditional caffs
Manchester seems to be well stocked with places to get a good fry-up or some other home cooked and ridiculously cheap meal. Perhaps the same applies to most towns and cities in the UK, but I just seem to have noticed it more over the last year or so. In the city centre I like The Koffee Pot and Abergeldie Cafe.  In the suburbs my favourite spot is in the grotty precinct in Prestwich. Can't remember the name of it (not sure it has one), but they do a competent and comforting corned beef hash followed by crumble & custard for about £3.50.

 
5. Markets
This might seem a strange one, particularly for Manchester itself. Central Manchester hasn't even got a proper market, either indoor or outdoor. What impresses me is the way the council has made the most of its meagre resources. The only permanent central market of any size is the Arndale Market, which is essentially a small, spare corner of the shopping centre. About half of the space has been given over to traditional market stalls, and the other half turned into a thriving food hall. There are a good selection of stalls, including an ale bar and the excellent Pancho's Burritos. Glass of ale and a spicy, porky burrito for lunch. Don't mind if I do. In addition to this is a rapidly expanding number of street markets that are spreading all over the suburbs as well as the city centre.

A special mention is also due to some of the markets in other Greater Manchester towns. Bury and Ashton-under-Lyne have particularly good examples. If you'd heard rumours that the good folk of Bury like to eat entire black puddings, on their own, with a dab of relish, mustard or ketchup, they are true. Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, it's actually rather delicious.

 

Middle Kingdom, Manchester

Middle Kingdom is one of a growing band of restaurants in Manchester showcasing regional Chinese cuisines. The focus here is on food from Hunan and Szechuan provinces both of which have big, bold flavours and lots of spice. A good thing if you ask me.

The menu is extensive and doesn't specify which dishes are Hunanese and which Szechuan, but if you avoid the Cantonese section (usually there to keep any unsuspecting punters after a 'normal' Chinese happy) you should be fine. Here's what we ate:

Fried Dumplings

A platter of fried dumplings to start were fine specimens, quite thin skinned with a chunky pork & spring onion filling and good crispy edges.

 Lamb Skewers

I'm familiar with lamb skewers from eating at Silk Road, a London restaurant serving food from Xinjiang province in North-West China, and one of my favourite restaurants anywhere, ever. The meat on their skewers is interspersed with chunks of lamb fat that keep it moist, both meat and fat coated in a moreish dry rub of cumin, chilli and salt. You have to eat them fast while they're hot, as the fat is not so lovely when cold. Middle Kingdom's skewers were meat only, but still rather good. The dry rub was similar, with the addition of szechuan pepper to the mix. Delicious.

Aubergines with the flavour of fish

Aubergines with the flavour of fish (I think this dish is more commonly known as fish fragrant aubergine) doesn't actually contain fish, I believe it's so named because the seasonings used are the same as for cooking fish in Szechuan cookery. Whatever you want to call it, it's not a dish for the faint-hearted. The aubergines had been fried in a substantial quantity of oil, to which more oil had been added. The flavour was actually quite mild; sweet and garlicky with just a hint of chilli heat. The aubergines were nicely cooked, lovely and soft without being mushy or slimy. I probably wouldn't order this dish again though, as we struggled to make much of an impression in the portion due to the colossal oil quotient.

Duck on the bone with chilli and taro in chinese beer

This, for me, was the high point of the meal. Duck on the bone with chillis and taro in chinese beer. The duck had been braised long and slow in a beer based stock laced with generous amounts of chilli, szechuan pepper and garlic, rendering it beautifully tender and deeply flavoured. The level of chilli heat and the numbness from the szechuan peppercorns was just right and the mild peppers, pickled peppers and spring onions added a vibrant, fresh contrast. Not really a big fan of the taro pieces though, they're sort of like grainy, floury potatoes in texture, and added little to the dish flavour-wise.

A wonderful meal, and another great Chinese restaurant to add to the list with Hunan and Red Chilli. This sort of food is always great value as well. Prices on the menu can look expensive, but are anything but as the portions are always huge. Main courses in the £7-9 pound region will serve two, and anything costing over a tenner is probably family sized. Our bill came to £50 for two including service and three beers each. Stick to water and a feast will set you back about £15 per head. Service was also friendly and efficient throughout. Thoroughly recommended.

8/10

86 Princess Street
Manchester
M1 6NG

http://www.middlekingdomuk.com