Modern Recipes -- Sichuan-Style Home Cooking (Shishang Series 8)

Author: Guo Minghui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Sichuan cuisine requires certain cooking techniques, and seemingly simple dishes often hide many secrets. Techniques like stir-frying, dry stir-frying, braising, roasting, and stewing each have their own unique intricacies.
Stir-frying feature: "Stir-frying" is a cooking method that uses high heat and quick cooking to maintain the tenderness of the ingredients, so the ingredients must be cut into small pieces or cubes.
Dry stir-frying feature: "Dry stir-frying" is a distinctive cooking method in Sichuan cuisine, typically used for ingredients with longer fibers or dense textures, such as shredded pork, shredded beef, or green beans.
Braising feature: The key to "braising" lies in using low heat to slowly cook out the original flavor of the ingredients.
Roasting feature: "Roasting" is one of the most commonly used cooking methods in Sichuan cuisine. For example, when using fermented bean paste, the cooking focus is on medium heat and hot oil. First, the fermented bean paste is stir-fried until fragrant, then hot broth is added to bring it to a boil. Next, the other ingredients are added and cooked over high heat until boiling, then reduced to medium-low heat and simmered slowly until flavorful. The flavor is rich and aromatic, making it very satisfying with rice.
Stewing feature: "Stewing" involves stir-frying with a small amount of oil first, adding broth and bringing it to a boil over high heat, then simmering over low heat with the lid on until the ingredients are tender.
(Boiling-down) feature: "(Boiling-down)" refers to a cooking method where processed ingredients are added to broth and seasonings, brought to a boil over high heat, then simmered slowly over low heat for a long time.