Sichuan Boiled Beef in Fiery Sauce (Shui Zhu Niu Rou)
Sichuan Province
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The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
Sichuan Province — shui zhu niu rou is a Chengdu and Chongqing restaurant staple; the technique applies to fish (shui zhu yu) and pork equally
II
Description
Shui zhu niu rou (water-boiled beef): thin slices of velveted beef and vegetables poached in a seasoned chili-doubanjiang oil-broth, then the whole bowl covered with dried chili, Sichuan pepper, and garlic, and finished with a pour of smoking-hot oil. The 'boiling' is gentle poaching — the fiery character comes from the final hot oil bloom, not the cooking medium.
III
The Thread
—Korean yukgaejang (spicy beef soup)
—Thai crying tiger beef (chili-dressed beef)
—Japanese shabushabu (poached thin beef — the same velveting principle applies)
IV
Flavour Context
Silky beef, fiery-numbing, intensely aromatic from the hot oil bloom — one of Sichuan's most theatrical and flavourful preparations
Pillars V — VII
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