If you have just discovered Sichuan Chinese cuisine, then you’d be happy to get acquainted with this very easy yet satisfying Sichuan dish called Jintang Feiniu 金湯肥牛.
The name says it all: fatty beef in a golden soup. It is a typical autumn dish, where pumpkins are in abundance. The dish also requires the yellow habanero chili, which is typically grown in China’s only tropical island of Hainan off its southeastern coast. If you can procure yellow habanero, I have left instructions below for you to make your own Hainanese yellow habanero chili sauce.
The idea of the dish is to create a bright yellow soup that is spicy, acidic, sweet and savoury all at the same time. To add some crunch to the dish, enoki mushrooms and the black woodear fungus which are also autumn harvests are added. Instead of white rice vinegar, I have proposed to replace it with apple cider vinegar to soften the acidity. For more umami, I suggest to use chicken stock instead of water for your soup base.
Ingredients:
- 400g thinly sliced fat beef (frozen)
- 40g Hainanese yellow habanero sauce 海南黄燈籠辣椒酱
- 4-6 dried Sichuanese red chilies
- White enoki mushrooms
- 100g fresh pumpkin
- 5-6 pieces black woodear fungus 黑木耳 re-hydrated
- 5 cloves of garlic, mashed
- 3cm ginger, mashed
- 8tbs apple cider vinegar
- 1tbs light soy sauce
- 1tbs oyster sauce
- 5bs vegetable oil
- 300ml water/ chicken stock
Garnishing:
- Coriander leaves
- 4-5 fresh green and red Thai chilies, chopped
Instructions:
- Re-hydrate black woodear fungus in hot boiling water for 10 minutes. Once done, drain and set aside.
- Microwave in water for 5 minutes or cook till soft in a pot of boiling water a small amount of pumpkin. Once done, drain and mash.
- Bring to boil some in your wok on high heat. Cook your enoki until soft. Drain and lay it at the bottom of your serving bowl.
- With the same boiling water, very lightly cook your beef for 10 seconds to get rid of the blood and protein foam. Drain and set aside.
- Mix your chopped dried Sichuan chilies with the yellow habanero sauce.
- With a clean dry wok, heat some vegetable oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, stir-fry your garlic and ginger. Add in your chili mix, then your mashed pumpkin. Do not let it burn by turning down the heat if necessary.
- Add in water or chicken stock and turn on high heat. Once boiling, add your seasoning of vinegar, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Test the taste and adjust if necessary.
- Add in your sliced beef and once the colour turns darker, serve in your serving casserole. Do not let it overcook.
- Garnish with coriander leaves and chopped fresh green and red Thai chilies. Serve piping hot.
How to make Hainanese yellow habanero sauce 海南黄燈籠辣椒酱
- Sun-dry 200g of yellow habanero chilies for around 8 hours.
- Grind them in a blender with 5 cloves of garlic, 1 tps salt, 1 tps sugar, 100ml vegetable oil.
- Once completely mushy, mix on another ed with another tbs oil and place your chili sauce in an airtight jar overnight.
- Your chili sauce is ready for consumption the following day for not more than a week.
