Sichuan Numbing Spicy Braised Beef (Shui Zhu Niu Rou)

Combine the sliced beef with the cornstarch, egg white and baking soda. Work the mixture into the beef with your hands until each slice is evenly coated and the surface takes on a slightly tacky, uniform sheen. Rest for 15 minutes at room temperature. The velvet coat is complete when the beef no longer feels wet but slides smoothly between the fingers.

Bring the stock to a gentle simmer in a wok or wide saucepan. Stir in the doubanjiang and add the whole dried chilies. Simmer for 5 minutes. The stock should be faintly brick-red and carry a mild, rounded chili fragrance — not aggressively spiced, as the aromatic pour will supply the dominant heat.

Arrange the mung bean sprouts, celery batons and torn cabbage in the base of a deep serving bowl. The layer should be generous and level, giving the beef a bed to rest on and a surface to receive the oil pour.

Lower the velveted beef slices into the simmering stock in a single layer and poach for 60–90 seconds only, moving them gently. Remove as soon as the slices turn just opaque throughout and lay them in an even layer over the vegetable bed. Pour enough of the poaching stock over the bowl to reach just below the beef. The beef is done when it yields without resistance and shows no pink at its centre.

Scatter the chopped dried chilies, toasted Sichuan peppercorns, minced garlic and sliced scallions evenly across the surface of the beef. This is where the dish lives or dies: heat the chili-infused tallow or oil in a small pan until it reaches smoking point — no less than 200 °C — then pour it in one decisive motion over the aromatics. The oil must be smoking hot; cool oil will not bloom the aromatics and 80 per cent of the dish's flavour is created in this instant. The pour is complete when the oil produces an immediate, violent sizzle and releases a fierce, fragrant cloud of chili and garlic.