Hot Pot Soup Base
Hot pot originated in China, where it is mainly divided into Sichuan hot pot and Chongqing hot pot. These two types of hot pot are very popular in China. Of course, with the development of time, hot pot has now spread to various parts of Asia in different forms. For example, there are Korean kimchi hot pot, Japanese shabu-shabu, Vietnamese hot pot, and so on! The most important thing about hot pot is the soup base. Today, I will share a delicious recipe for a versatile hot pot soup base.
INGREDIENTS
- 1500g Butter
- 300g rapeseed oil
DIRECTIONS
Prepare all ingredients: Put the dried chili peppers in cold water and boil for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water and crush them into coarse grains. Then, soak them in white wine with Sichuan peppercorns for 20 minutes at a temperature above 50 degrees Celsius.
After soaking the spices in white wine for 20 minutes, crush them into coarse grains. Prepare the scallions cut into sections, ginger smashed, and garlic whole.
Tip:
Soaking all the spices together in wine helps to enhance their flavor.
Meanwhile, add all the butter and canola oil into a pot. Once the butter is melted, add the scallions, ginger, and onion. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Then, add the garlic and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes. Finally, simmer over low heat for 2 minutes.
Remove the scallions, ginger, and garlic from the pot. Then, add the prepared chili peppers and the pre-soaked spices. Simmer over medium heat for 7 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for an additional 23 minutes.
Next, add the Sichuan peppercorns and rock sugar. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for another 5 minutes. Once the time is up, turn off the heat.
Transfer the mixture into aluminum foil trays while still warm. Garnish with some chili peppers and bay leaves. Let it sit for 24 hours to ferment, then divide and store it in the freezer.
Tip:
Once prepared, this hot pot seasoning can be portioned out as needed for making Sichuan spicy hot pot.