When typing the word "mala", my mouth is already watering!
Probably many people's favorite Chinese dish is Mala crawfish or numbing (ma) and spicy (la) crawfish. The "mala" effect is created by Sichuan peppercorns and dried chili peppers, and they sure will set both your tongue and appetite on fire!!
The tasty flavor, the charming smell and the gorgeous appearance... It is absolutely a worth-trying dish for your Spring Festival Dinner!
Ingredients
1/4 cup peanut or canola oil
1 1/2 cups (40 grams) dried Sichuan chili peppers
1 tablespoon red or green Sichuan peppercorns
1/2 cup Pixian chili bean paste (doubanjiang)
8 scallions, cut in sections
2 tablespoons sliced ginger
2 star anise
1 bay leaf
Optional additional spices such as cao guo (black cardamom), cassia bark, fennel
2 tablespoons Sichuan preserved mustard greens (yacai)
2 tablespoons preserved black beans (dou chi)
2 tablespoons Sichuan ground chilies
10 cups chicken stock and/or water
3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons freshly ground Sichuan pepper (see note)
Salt to taste
4 whole, peeled garlic cloves
2-3 stalks celery including leaves, cut in sections
3 pounds live crawfish
Instructions
Add 1/4 cup oil to a large soup/stock pot and heat over a low flame. Add chili peppers and whole Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chili bean paste, scallions, ginger, star anise, bay leaf and any additional spices and cook briefly to bring out their aroma. Stir in yacai, preserved black beans and ground chilies.
Add the 10 cups stock (or water or combination of the two), turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Add Shaoxing wine, sugar, ground Sichuan pepper and salt and mix well. Add the garlic cloves and celery and, finally, the live crawfish.
Boil crawfish for about 3 minutes (or more if they are large). Turn off heat, cover pot and let crawfish soak up the spicy seasoning for about 30 minutes. Fish crawfish out of the water to a serving platter and dig in!
