Chili peppers are
not usually associated with the cuisines along the lower reaches of the Yangtze
River, but now and then you will find spicy delights that increase in heat the
further upriver you go. Anhui and Jiangxi, for example, have some pretty fiery
dishes and more than their share of diehard chiliheads, and of course by the
time you get the headwaters of the Yangtze, you are in pepper central: Sichuan.
However, out in
the east in the delta area there is not much to be had in the way of chili
peppers. The desire in such places as Jiangsu and Zhejiang tends more towards
the subtle and the gentle. Dishes are generally seasoned with considerable
restraint so that the natural flavors of the ingredients have the chance to shine.
Even so, chilies
are welcome here as long as they are tamed. Usually showing up in condiments
such as this sauce made from fresh peppers, the heat is turned down to an
understated vibration, with fermented black beans, garlic, and green onions
rounding out the flavors against a light oil base that restrains their raw
natures even further. A short cooking both ensures that the sauce can be stored
for weeks without molding and melds the various aromas together into a truly
refined sauce.
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| Toss the chilies into the garlic & oil |
I like to keep a
small jar of this on the kitchen table to spark up simple dinners or breakfasts,
and if I’m in a hurry or just don’t know what to eat, this beautiful red and
black sauce comes to the rescue by turning even the blandest meal into a
delight: smother hot eggs or rice or cooked cauliflower or bean curd or noodles
with it, and then settle in for a very pleasing time.
But this is more
than just a condiment, for it is a great way to pull together a fast dinner.
Quickly stir-fry something like chopped chicken or sliced fish or shredded pork, and then toss in
this sauce at the last minute. It couldn't be simpler.
Next week's post will show you some easy ways to prep your fresh chilies and garlic, so stay tuned!
Fresh chili sauce
Xīnxiān làjiāojiàng 新鮮辣椒醬
Zhejiang, Jiangsu
Makes 1½ cups
6 large red
jalapeno peppers (6 to 7 ounces)
1 teaspoon sea
salt
4 to 6 cloves
garlic
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| And then add the black beans |
¾ cup fermented
black beans
¾ cup fresh peanut
or vegetable oil
3 green onions,
trimmed
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon sea
salt, or to taste
1. Wash the
peppers and pat them dry. Stem and seed them (see Tips), and then cut them into
small (less than ¼-inch) dice. Place the peppers in a small colander, toss them
with the 1 teaspoon salt, and let the extra liquid in the peppers leach out
over the next hour or two; discard the liquid.
2. Peel and chop
the garlic into pieces about the same size as the diced peppers. Rinse the
beans in a colander, shake dry, and then coarsely chop them, into something
along the same size as the garlic and peppers.
3. Pour the oil
into a cool wok and add the garlic. Slowly fry the garlic in the oil over
medium heat until it sizzles and smells wonderful, but has not yet browned. Add
the chilies and stir these together, and then add the beans. Slowly fry these
together for around 15 minutes, adjusting the heat as necessary to maintain
little more than a gentle bubble in the oil.
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| The fast track to Nirvana |
4. While the sauce
is simmering away, cut each green onion lengthwise in half and then crosswise
into pieces that are about the same size as the chilies. Add the green onions
to the sauce after the 15 minutes are up, as well as the sugar. Stir and cook
the sauce until the onions have wilted. Taste and adjust the seasoning with the
salt, using more or less as needed. Refrigerate it in a glass jar.
Tips
Use other, fierier peppers
here if you like this sauce hotter.
You can leave the
seeds in the peppers if you like them that way, but I prefer the smoothness of
a seedless sauce, as well as the lack of bitterness that the seeds often
provide.
