I had the privilege of feasting on some of “Meat guy’s” (Jason of Bite-the-Bullet BBQ) pulled pork this past week. As I wrote a couple weeks back, I was recently in New Hampshire to pick up a very large order of BBQ (4 3-packs of ribs, 4 packs of pulled pork, sadly all spoken for!). I don’t think I could get tired of this stuff. As I’m typing, I just finished a sandwich and have been picking at some of the extra I heated up for lunch tomorrow. Might have to heat up some more =P
BBQ is something I used to associate with frozen hamburgers, hotdogs and the like. I’ve made a few strides since then. A few years back, my friends and I made frequent visits to Blue Ribbon BBQ in Arlington. That was the beginning of my BBQ craze. The crowning achievement was finishing the Trio, 3 different meats with two sides and cornbread (typically, brisket, burnt ends, and pulled pork). Sounds like a ton doesn’t it? Well, it was…and I fondly look back on the days when such feats of gluttony were commonplace. I mean they still happen now and then but not as frequently as in the past (I’m getting old, my bones can’t handle it anymore. Maybe I’m over the hill.)
Then, I spent 3 months in Texas on a work rotation. You can probably imagine what I ate, right? SUSHI! And the freshest vegetables you could find at Central Market! I’m kidding of course…I ate tons of BBQ, several times a week. Texas BBQ was slightly different than I imagined though, catering more to the brisket eater (not a bad thing). The other thing I noticed about BBQ places was the incredible quality of the dinner rolls. I mean, a dinner roll really is just a dinner roll. But whatever buttery/oily goodness that comes fresh out of those ovens is truly a magnificent specimen of your average dinner roll. And if you ran out, you always got more! (And as an aside, I have to mention the ridiculously good Vietnamese food in Arlington, TX)
And this is all leading up to…a post about Chinese food. Really.
I needed something to write about and the pulled pork was the first thing that came to mind. But again, I digress.
I always order this dish whenever I go out to one of the local places, Sichuan Gourmet. I’ve been to the Framingham and Billerica locations and they just recently opened in Brookline but I haven’t been there yet but I hear the quality is just as good. I thought this was mostly a stir-fried dish which surprised me because typically I have a hard time keeping the fish from falling apart! However, I think the fish may actually be cooked separately from the sauce and combined right before serving, which makes a ton of sense. In fact, after perusing Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty, my suspicions were confirmed. The fish is sliced, marinated, dipped in cornstarch and then BOILED. Then, it’s removed until the sauce is ready.
Recipe adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Plenty
Chili bean sauce link (this is what it looks like): Chili Bean Sauce
Sichuan Fish Fillets in Spicy Chili sauce
Time: 35 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
– 1 – 1.5 lb white fish, sliced (Used Striped Bass)
– 4 tbsp cornstarch
– 3 tbsp water
Marinade:
– 1 inch ginger, unpeeled
– 1 scallion, chopped
– 1/2 tsp salt
– 2 tsp ShaoHsing rice wine
Base:
– 6 dried chillies, seeds removed
– 1 inch piece of ginger, sliced thin
– 4 cloves garlic, sliced
– 5 scallions, chopped (1/2 to 3/4 inch pieces)
– 3 tbsp canola oil
– 1 tbsp Chili Bean Sauce
– 1/2 tsp ground sichuan peppercorns
Oil:
– 3/4 cup canola oil
– 1.5 tbsp chili bean sauce
– 10-20 dried chillies, seeds removed
– 2 tsp sichuan peppercorns
Method:
1. Mix the fish and marinade, set aside.
2. Add some water to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cornstarch and water mix to the fish at this point. Stir carefully to coat the fish with the cornstarch mixture.
3. In a separate pan, add 3 tbsp canola oil over high heat. Add the chili paste, ginger, garlic, scallions, chillies, and sichuan peppercorns (from the base) and stir-fry until fragrant (but be careful about burning!). When finished, pour into the bowl/dish you will serve the fish in.
4. Add the fish to the boiling water and boil untouched until just cooked. Add to the serving bowl/dish.
5. In a frying pan, add 3/4 cup oil, chili bean sauce, chillies, and pepper (from the oil header). Stir fry until fragrant, pour over the fish and serve immediately.