Sichuan Mala Xiang Guo — Dry-Style Hot Pot Stir-Fry

Prepare all ingredients before the wok is lit — proteins, starchy vegetables, and quick-cooking vegetables separated into three distinct groups. Slice everything to a uniform thickness so each group cooks evenly. The wok will not pause.

Heat the oil in the wok over the highest available flame until it shimmers and just begins to smoke. Add the doubanjiang and fry, pressing and folding it constantly, until the oil runs a deep brick-red and the paste loses its raw, sharp edge — this takes at least two minutes of continuous movement. Add the dried chilies and Sichuan peppercorns and fry a further thirty seconds, then add the garlic and ginger and fry until fragrant. This is where the dish lives or dies: a weak or hurried sauce base cannot be corrected by any later step — the doubanjiang and chili base must be fried until fully aromatic before a single ingredient enters the wok.

Add proteins — duck blood cubes, offal, seafood, tofu — and toss at high heat, coating each piece in the sauce. Continue stir-frying, keeping everything in motion, until the proteins are just cooked through and their surfaces are lacquered with the red oil.

Add the starchy vegetables — lotus root and potato slices — and continue stir-frying over high heat. They require longer than leafy vegetables and will absorb the sauce into their cut surfaces. They are ready when the edges are translucent but the centres still carry a faint resistance.

Add the quick-cooking leafy vegetables or beansprouts last. Toss briefly — no more than one minute — until just wilted but still holding structure. The wok must not be allowed to cool; the stir-fry is continuous throughout.

Remove the wok from the heat. Drizzle over the sesame oil, chili oil, and finally the prickly ash oil (hua jiao you). Toss once to distribute. Plate immediately; the sauce pool that collects at the base of the serving dish is part of the dish.